Danny Phantom: Hunting in the Night
by JH24
Summary: Vlad Plasmius and his ally Skulker are hunting a mysterious ghost in the middle of the night, until Danny intervenes. After ruining his plans yet again, an enraged Plasmius shows our hero how far he's willing to go to achieve his goals.
1. The hunt

Title: Danny Phantom: Hunting in the Night.

Author: JH24

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. This awesome show and all of its characters are property of Butch Hartman.

Rating: Rating: T

Genre: Action/Adventure

Spoilers: The story could take place somewhere after "Frightmare", but before "Phantom Planet."

Pairings: No Pairings

Main characters: Danny Phantom/Fenton, Vlad Plasmius/Masters, Skulker.

Outside characters: Jacqueline (human, limited role), Juukka (ghost, important role) and several citizens of Amity Park.

Warnings: There is violence in this story and it is a little stronger or harder than in the show at some points.

Story Synopsis: Vlad Plasmius and Skulker are hunting a strange ghost during the night and their actions endanger the lives of innocent civilians. The new ghost named Juukka isn't prepared to let himself be captured without a fight. The situation becomes more complicated when Danny intervenes. Enraged about Danny interfering with his plans once again, Vlad Plasmius shows how far he is willing to go in order to achieve his goals.

Author's Notes: Hello everyone, the idea for this story popped up in my head around the end of June. I tried to write a fanfic before but I was never able to finish it, which was entirely my fault as I didn't prepare myself as well as I could. However, this one is entirely written out from chapter 1 until epilogue although I'm still trying to get the pacing of the ending right. But this is several chapters away so I have a bit more time for that.

Originally intended as a one-shot, this story quickly began to grow and now after several months it contains 7 (maybe 8, depending how I divide the last pages) chapters + 1 epilogue. I'm planning to post a new chapter every 5-7 days, the period could be shorter or a bit longer, it really depends on the situation.

It took me about three months to write and although I really enjoyed writing it there were also moments that I was very close in abandoning the entire project. However, I managed to finish it, but I would never have been able to do so without the support and help of two of my best online-friends I have.

Bluemoonalto and Pearl84, I want to thank you both from the bottom of my heart for all your beta-reading, help, advice, support and patience. Without you both I would never have been able to post this fanfic or even finish it. I'm really grateful for your help. Thank you for everything, my friends!

I admit I'm pretty nervous posting my story but here is the first chapter, I hope you enjoy it.

**Danny Phantom fanfic: Hunting in the Night**

_Chapter 1: The Hunt_

"Target locked. Firing now!"

The panicked creature looked up and saw that two missiles were coming straight at him. Not hesitating for a moment the being jumped high into the air. He watched the missiles go straight underneath him; with a relieved sigh he made himself into a ball and spun several times in the air before landing softly on all fours.

However, his relief didn't last long as he heard the sound of the missiles becoming louder. He turned around and discovered that the projectiles had changed their course, coming for him again. His eyes widening in panic, he darted forward and started running as quickly as he could, the missiles hot on his tail. He headed across a large empty parking lot belonging to an office complex, realizing that in this open area he would never be able to get rid of those things.

Just before reaching the exit of the open lot, he dashed towards the right, running for a few more seconds and then jumping over a high, chain link fence separating the company parking area from a thicket.

Illuminated by a full moon, two figures were standing on the top of a nearby six-story high office-building, observing the events taking place.

"Skulker, he is hiding himself in those bushes over there."

"Not a problem," the hunter grinned, "just watch."

At the last moment, just when it appeared that the missiles would hit the fence, they changed their direction and went straight into the air, going over the obstacle and once again moving directly toward their target.

"Very nice."

"Yes, let's just say I've made a few changes." Skulker was still grinning.

The creature let out a small scream in panic and jumped out of the vegetation; he now found himself on a four-lane road, looking around desperately for a new hiding place. He quickly realized he didn't have enough time to find a safe place to seek shelter in. Trying to keep enough distance between himself and his pursuers, he decided to follow the road for now, running as hard as his body would allow.

"Skulker, Juukka is approaching a few cars, is it still safe to...?"

"Don't worry, Plasmius," the hunter said in a reassuring tone. "I have everything under control."

Exactly at that moment, the creature named Juukka began to close on the two cars directly in front of him. Without any effort, he jumped on the roof of the car that was closest to him.

"What was that, Eric? It sounds like something heavy landed on our roof," a young woman in the passenger seat said worriedly.

"I don't know, honey, but—"

The young man couldn't finish his sentence as his wife started to scream. "Eric! I can see a large tail on our back window, a devil's tail! There is a monster on our roof! Do something!"

"I'm driving, I can't just— MELISSA?" the man yelled, upon discovering his wife had just fainted in her seat.

Making sure there were no other drivers behind them, he slammed on the brakes. So far Juukka had been holding steadily to the roof of the vehicle, but the force caused from the car's sudden halt made him lose his grip. He was thrown off the roof, landed with a hard thud face-down on the hood of the car and then slid forwards onto the road.

"What was that? What in the world was that?" the young man stammered, while trying to keep his breathing under control.

Juukka, who was lying on his belly on the cold road, quickly came to his senses and immediately jumped into the air again. The two projectiles that had been following him flew over the car he had just fallen from, still hot on his tail. Juukka made a second, even larger leap into the air. This time, while still in mid-air, he turned around and fired a large, green ecto-blast from his right hand directly into the sky. The two projectiles changed their course and went after the just released ecto-energy. Their diversion gave the creature a few valuable seconds.

"Skulker, those missiles..."

"Just watch."

Plasmius turned around to watch again, even though he was really getting tired of this game. It was around 11:00 PM and they had been chasing this 'Juukka' for hours already.

Just before impact, the projectiles diverted their course again, avoiding the energy-blast at the last moment. For a few seconds the missiles made several small circles, as if confused; after that, the two weapons went after their original target once more at an even faster speed.

"You see, Plasmius," Skulker said confidently, "the ecto-seeking missiles you've supplied me with were already very advanced, but not entirely suitable for use in crowded areas. They now have been equipped with a very intelligent AI chip, expanding the capabilities of the on-board electronics to a new level, allowing them to adapt to every situation and to learn from their mistakes. That trick Juukka just did, they won't fall for that again."

"I see. May I ask where you got those chips and why you did not share this information with me before?"

"Well, let's just say that Technus owed me something, and I didn't inform you yet because I wanted to surprise you. These chips will prove a major breakthrough for your research and especially for your cloning projects. And I have many more of them."

"Well, that is all nice a—" Vlad abruptly halted his response. He frowned as he observed where Juukka was heading. "Skulker, he is running towards that crossing and the traffic lights are red. I don't want him causing any accidents!"

At this point Juuka made a jump over the second car, which was now stopped at the red traffic light. He dashed forward, running through the intersection on all fours as fast as he possible could. It wasn't fast enough. A car approached from the right; Juukka became blinded by the headlights and used his right hand to shield his eyes from the light. But he couldn't run as fast on only two legs, and that proved to be his undoing.

"What is that thing?" the driver yelled in panic while hitting the brakes.

"DAD, STOP! You're going to hit it!" his daughter screamed.

"I'm trying! Hang on!"

With a heavy sound the car collided with Juukka at full force. The creature let out an agonizing scream as the impact threw him backwards, before landing painfully on the hard concrete of the intersection.

"What was that? Who is...?" The man stammered from behind the steering wheel while looking at the strange thing, beast, or whatever it was, lying motionlessly in front of the headlights. His face was pale and his body was trembling all over. "Jacqueline, are you alright?"

"I-I'm f-fine. You?" she stuttered.

"Thank goodness you're okay." He let out a sigh of relief. "I'm alright as well."

She smiled at hearing her father's reassuring words, but that smile quickly disappeared when she realized what had just happened. "Dad, I think we've just hit an animal," she said in panicked tone. "We have to help it." She then opened the door and raced outside towards the creature that was lying on its back in front of their car.

"Jacqueline, come back to the car this instant!" her father yelled after her. He then stepped out of the vehicle and ran toward his daughter. "We don't even know what it is, but --that's definitely not a normal animal."

Jacqueline had sat down next to the creature, slowly stretching her hand towards it.

"Keep your hands away from that, that, whatever that is, and get back into the car! I'm not going to s..." her father didn't finish his sentence as he got a good view of the creature that was lying there. "Amazing," he softly whispered. "I've never seen something like that before. What is it?"

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"Skulker, the missiles," Plasmius said, defeated, while placing a hand on his face. Could this get any worse?

"Oh, right," Skulker answered. He pushed a button on the small remote he was holding in his right hand, and both missiles went invisible and flew high up into the air. Once there both projectiles started to fly in the same circles over and over again.

"Good, they're programmed to follow this pattern until I order them to do otherwise."

Plasmius didn't reply, as his attention was drawn to the accident that had just taken place in the intersection. At this point more people were stepping out of their cars, gathering around the motionless creature, although keeping a safe distance.

Jacqueline was still sitting beside the being. _What is it?_ she wondered. _Is it an animal? Could it be a ghost?_ Although she couldn't prove it, she couldn't get rid of the feeling that she was looking at a male creature of, well, of whatever species he was from.

The being was not very tall, she estimated that he was about five feet in length, not including his long tail. His skin was covered with a black fur, grizzled with grey, and he had powerful claws on both his feet and hands. His chest, as well as the end of his legs and arms was covered with dark green armor parts outlined with a blood-red edge. The creature's head intrigued her the most. He was wearing a dark green helmet that seemed to resemble a wolf of some sort, with a mask attached to it covering his face except for the eyes. Also, there seemed to be four white spikes attached on top of the helmet. They were flat, had a wide base at the bottom, were long, pointed, sharp and jagged along their length. Furry, pointy ears were visible at both sides of his head, sticking out of his helmet through two holes.

There was a strange symbol in the centre of the chest plate, reminding her of a capital 'J,' giving of an eerie golden glow. She also noticed a pulsating red line that was visible between the small openings of his light grey, bony tail.

"Who are you?" she softly spoke to the being. She stretched out her hand and carefully clasped his left hand.

Jacqueline's father, who had been staring at the beast for several moments, came to his senses again, and saw what she was doing. "Are you crazy!?" he yelled at her. "What do you think you're doing? Let go, don't touch—" His sentence was once again interrupted as the creature began to moan weakly.

"Dad, he's waking up!" she said, her voice filled with excitement.

"Alright, enough of this! You're coming with me right now!" He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away but at that exact moment...

"Dad, look! His eyes, he's opening his eyes!"

The man, who was still holding the arm of his daughter, began to tremble. The creature had indeed opened his eyes, and was now looking directly at Jacqueline, who was still holding its hand. He wanted to pull her away but felt himself unable to do so as his legs started to feel weak.

"Hi," Jacqueline softly and kindly spoke to the being. "Don't be afraid, we're trying to help you." She noticed that the creature's eyes were light green, giving of a weak glow. She felt her father trembling in fear. Strangely enough, she wasn't afraid at all. On the contrary, looking into the creature's eyes she felt her body calm down and relax. She was now certain of it, no matter who or what this creature is, he was definitely not evil. The only things she could find in his eyes were uncertainty and curiosity.

Meanwhile, on the roof of the office building, Plasmius became visibly frustrated. "What an utter disaster. It's a good thing that I am now the mayor of this city so I can handle the Public Relations nightmare myself, but this is getting way too much attention. I wanted to handle this discreetly." He sighed irritably. "Maybe using those missiles wasn't such a good idea af— What? Skulker, what's the meaning of this?" He pointed at the two projectiles, which had left their holding pattern and had begun flying towards Juukka again.

"I have no idea," Skulker answered in surprise. He quickly pushed several buttons on the remote but the missiles didn't change course. "I can't control them, they're not responding to my commands anymore. I don't understand why."

"Then override the controls!" Vlad yelled. "Initiate the self-destruct sequence!"

"I'm trying, but it will take several seconds. It'll be too late."

"What? No!" Plasmius turned his face in the direction of the intersection again, seeing how a disaster unfolded.

"Can you hear me? Can you understand me?" the girl asked the creature, which still hadn't moved since the accident. The being slowly lowered his head a bit and seemed to look at the her hand, which was still holding his left hand. Suddenly his eyes shot wide open as he turned his head to look forward, lifting himself up a bit from the ground.

"Is there something wrong?" Jacqueline asked. "Do you see something?"

A young man from the crowd suddenly started to yell, "Something is coming this way! Run everyone, RUN!" Panic erupted as more and more people saw what he meant and started to run in different directions.

Jacqueline and her father looked up as well and saw two green objects in the distance, leaving a green trail of smoke, coming their way. Before they could react, the creature stood up, grabbed the girl around the waist with his left arm and her father with his right and jumped away just before the missiles would have hit. Losing their target, the missiles swerved around the few people who hadn't been able to flee, then zoomed away. Juukka then dropped the girl and her father safely on the ground. After that, he dropped down on all fours again and turned right from the crossing, getting quickly out of sight into the industrial area of Amity Park.

"Jacqueline," her father said while still lying on the ground, "please tell me you're alright?"

"I'm okay, Dad," she answered while rolling onto her back, trying to make sense of what just happened.

Her father managed to get up first and then carefully tried to help his daughter stand by taking her hand.

"You know, Dad," she softly spoke to him while putting her hand on his shoulder, "I think that creature, whoever it was, just saved our life."

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"Alright, self-destruct sequence initiated. I've got manual control now."

"Good." Plasmius let out a relieved sigh, grateful that a disaster had just been averted, thanks to that ghost they were chasing, no less.

"Sending the missiles into the air, ordering self-destruct, three... two... one... now!"

In a bright green flash of light, the two missiles self-destructed harmlessly in the sky. However, the glow of the explosion illuminated a big part of Amity Park.

"Isn't this fantastic," Vlad grumbled sarcastically, "more witnesses; now everyone knows that something happened tonight. This place will soon be swarming with those annoying tv crews and reporters." He glared at Skulker, "We really have to take a good look at those AI chips when this is over. I don't want this to happen again."

"I understand," the hunter said before he looked back at his employer with a frown.

Plasmius raised an eyebrow. "Is something on your mind?"

"Well, it's none of my business," Skulker began. "But you are the mayor of this city now. I'm sure you'll be called soon about what just happened, and I don't think it will be good for your ratings if the mayor was nowhere to be found during an emergency."

Vlad sighed again. "I know that, Skulker, and you do make a good point. But I've already thought of that. Before I left I made a copy of myself in human form, he will take care of any calls and emergency meetings when necessary. Unfortunately, this has been putting a strain on me, especially with so much distance between us."

"I can see that. Are you sure it is wise to continue? We already found out that this Juukka is pretty strong and with your powers gradually weakening I don't know..."

"There's no need to concern yourself, Skulker. I can assure you I'm still strong enough to tear this ghost apart piece by piece if the need arises. As you know I've been gaining experience in the use of my ghost powers for many years now. One of the things that I've learned during that period is to keep a few energy reserves aside in all situations; you never know when they will come in handy." A confident and reassuring grin appeared on his face.

Skulker, not looking entirely convinced, decided to change the subject. He looked at the tracking device on his left wrist. "Juukka has fled into the industrial area, he is not running anymore so we can catch up with him quickly if we leave now."

"Excellent," Plasmius replied, "let's g—"

BEEP BEEP BEEP

"Oh, what now?" the half-ghost said in frustration, looking at the noisy device on Skulker's arm.

"The tracker has detected another ghost, approaching fast, a half-ghost to be exact."

"Daniel," Plasmius muttered almost inaudibly. "Of course, just when you think things couldn't get any worse." He placed his right hand on his face, as if to emphasize his words.

"You aren't actually afraid of that ghost boy, are you?" Skulker asked with surprise.

"I'm not," Plasmius replied wearily, "it's just that I have enough on my hands already, but I guess this was to be expected. Is the Ecto-Jammer you have working? He can't sense us right now, can he?"

"No, according to the readings I get on my screen he should not be able to detect us. But in any case, shouldn't we deal with the whelp first?" A little grin appeared on the hunter's face.

"No, Juukka is our first priority. If Danny interferes, and we know he will..." Plasmius clenched his fists in annoyance when speaking these words, "...we'll just have to deal with him then."

The half-ghost turned to Skulker with a very serious expression. "Skulker, although normally I would have no trouble dealing with Daniel, considering the state my powers are in right now, he and Juukka together could actually give me some problems. I'm counting on you to back me up if the need should arise."

"No problem, you can count on me."

"Excellent." A smile appeared on Plasmius' tired face. "I don't have to tell you how much depends on this mission, Skulker."

The hunter nodded.

"We must succeed in capturing this ghost. If the stories you've heard are correct, the only thing we'll need to do is drain him of his energy in order to weaken him, and then..." An evil grin appeared on his features. "He is the final piece I need, Skulker, I must have him on my side!"

With these words both the hunter and the older half-ghost turned invisible, jumped from the building and then flew at full speed towards the industrial area, locking in on their prey.

End of chapter 1


	2. Containment

Thank you so much for the reviews!

MutantLover09: Thank you for your kind words! Regarding his appearance, if you wish you can picture him any way you prefer. It is really difficult to describe or show his appearance without a drawing and unfortunately I'm no very good at that. I left some parts of his description out on purpose though, so that the reader can form a view of the ghost in his mind.

Pearl84: It great to see you here! Thank you and I'll do my best. Hopefully I'll be able to keep the story interesting until the end.

ElusiveVisionary: Thank you! I'm really happy to hear that you like it!

* * *

Danny Phantom fanfic: Hunting in the night

Chapter 2: Containment

Danny flew through the streets of Amity Park, increasing his speed after the explosion had lit the sky. He had no idea what was going on but he felt that it must be connected with the ghost he sensed just earlier. The teen let out a long yawn. _Of course right at the moment I wanted to go to bed._ It was Friday evening and he felt really tired. He had a difficult school week behind him; filled with tests and several reports he had to turn in. Not only that, but last week was probably one of the busiest ghost-hunting weeks he ever experienced. Including several confrontations he had with Vlad the last few days..

The boy yawned again. "Well, at least I don't have to worry about my parents showing up." He spoke softly. They were attending a two-day ghost convention in New York City. If they had been here they would have surely noticed the green blast as well.

As he neared the area the explosion originated from he turned invisible, thinking it would be better to investigate first before revealing himself.

* * *

"Yes, I understand the urgency of the situation, Commissioner." Vlad said into the phone. He sat behind his desk in the mayor's office of City Hall, briefly glancing at the paintings hanging in his room while listening to what he already knew the man wanted to say.

"I've already sent every agent I have available to the designated location, Mr. Mayor. From the many calls we're receiving, something bad seems to be going on over there. Reports are coming in about some kind of ghost creature or animal which has been hit by a car at the intersection of 14th and Walston. Not only that, but there are also reports coming in that missiles were fired at a large crowd of people. If they would have hit the consequences could have been disastrous."

Vlad held a piece of paper in the air, silently reading a summary of the transcript from a phone call coming from a witness. "I've just received some of these reports, this indeed sounds very serious. From what I understand the sighted being has fled within the industrial district?"

"Yes, sir, our special police anti-ghost unit is on standby. You only have to give your word and we are going in."

"Given the circumstances, I order you to keep them on standby for now."

There was a moment of silence. "With all due respect, Mayor Masters, I must question your order. Isn't the main reason this unit was created to handle these types of situations? I mean, you personally…"

Putting the paper down, Vlad put his left arm on the desk and began to lean slightly on it. "Yes, I am fully aware of that, Maxwell. However, judging by the reports I have before me, we aren't dealing with a normal ghost encounter. While I am not doubting the competence of your men, I am not willing to send them in there without at least knowing more about the situation itself. Also, there is still the case of those reported missiles. No, I am not going to take any risks with the lives of your men.

The Commissioner remained silent, although Vlad could hear him swallow.

"These are my final orders, Maxwell," he said while leaning back in his leather chair. " I want you to fully surround the industrial area, post groups of police officers at strategic locations around the district, each group accompanied by one of your anti-ghost agents. There are only three access points to the industrial zone; I want you to close them all off. The safety of the citizens of Amity Park is our first and most important priority."

"I understand, sir, but what about the people who are still inside the industrial area? There are still many people working late shifts."

"Yes, I understand. Send messages through the Emergency Broadcast System to warn them and all the people in Amity Park. Tell them that for their own safety, everyone has to stay inside their homes. Send police cars with loudspeakers throughout the city to transmit this message as well. Also, notify all the companies located within the industrial district; ask them to relay the same message to all their employees. Have the police surveillance helicopters patrol the edges of the district, but, _do not_ let them enter the area itself. We don't want to agitate or anger whoever or whatever is out there. The same goes for the news helicopters, keep them out! No person, no vehicle, no helicopter,_ no one_ is allowed to leave or enter that area without my permission. Have I made myself clear?" Vlad asked with a stern voice, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. In the mean time, I'll contact the Feds and ask them to send that elite anti-ghost unit to get to the bottom of this." Unknown to the Commissioner, a small grin appeared on Vlad's face. "They've proven to be very capable in the past. If there is a ghost there, they will deal with it. I'll set up a crisis centre within my office to coordinate and oversee our actions. Do you have any questions?"

"No, sir. I understand, we'll start the containment procedure immediately."

"Excellent, my good man. I'll speak to you later."

Vlad hung up the phone and sighed, he then leaned on the desk, folding his hands in front of him. _So far everything is going well. By letting the police set up a blockade around the industrial district I have given myself more time to capture that Juukka creature. The only thing that could possibly pose a problem is Daniel, but if I manage to get Juukka in my possession before that happens, it doesn't really matter._

Vlad Masters picked up the phone again, "Mrs. Marble? Open the hotline for me please, I want to speak with the Guys in White."

* * *

"Plasmius, I found him!" 

"Excellent work," Vlad answered happily. Both he and Skulker were still invisible and had been searching the industrial zone for several minutes now. Their prey had hidden himself well; as soon as they had entered the area he had lowered his ecto-energy level and made himself a lot harder to detect. Skulker's tracking device started to give imprecise readings, increasing the number of hiding places where Juukka could shelter. Luckily, Skulker was an experienced hunter and he had dealt with situations like this before.

"So, were exactly is he?"

Skulker stretched his arm and pointed towards a line of trucks parked just next to a commercial factory. "He has hidden himself in the back of the third truck closest to you," he whispered.

"Ah, I see." Plasmius just gazed towards Juukka's hiding location for a moment. He wasn't expecting this to be an easy fight, but he knew that he had the means of coming out victorious, especially with Skulker in the game. It was time to strategize. "Skulker," he whispered, turning towards his ally, "Get ready; as soon as I flush Juukka out I expect you to attack him. It is imperative that we don't give him any chance to rest or recuperate during the battle."

The hunter nodded.

Plasmius became visible, made himself intangible, and flew straight into the back of the truck. Once inside, he quickly formed a bright, pink energy ball in his right hand.

"BOO!"

The poor creature let out a scream of panic. Plasmius then allowed the glowing sphere to flow upwards until it touched the ceiling of the container, effectively illuminating every corner. Juukka was still dumbfounded and the older half-ghost knew that this was the right opportunity to strike. He dashed forward and grabbed the ghost by the neck with his right hand. He then turned around and threw the creature with all his might against the other end of the container. Juukka cried out in pain as his back hit the metal wall at full force. Plasmius now powered up his right hand until it was burning violently with ghostly energy. He leaped forward, going directly for his opponent's head, but the ghost managed to avoid the halfa's attack just in time by going intangible and jumping out of the truck.

Skulker, also leaving his invisible form, had seen that his prey had jumped out of the vehicle and accurately anticipated where his target would land. With Juukka still in mid-air, he fired an ecto-grenade at the spot where he thought the being was heading. Unfortunately for the creature, Skulker's prediction was spot on. Juukka had barely landed in the middle of the truck parking area, when he saw a grenade rolling towards him. He managed to jump in the air again, but was still caught in the ensuing explosion.

The ghost let out another painful scream as his body was enveloped in the powerful shockwaves. The released force sent him flying through the air upside down.

Skulker showed a devilish grin as he activated the rockets mounted on his back and started flying towards his prey at full speed. He then pounded his shoulder into the upper back of the creature, which earned him an agonized cry from his victim. Statisfied with the result, he watched Juukka smash down head first on the roof of a small office building.

"Well done," Plasmius complimented as he flew towards the hunter. He then swooped down, his right fist ready to strike. However, Juukka quickly turned around and to the older half-ghost's surprise, managed to catch his fist with his left hand.

"What?"

Juukka then placed his right hand on Plasmius right arm, turned around and threw the stunned half-ghost over his shoulder into the air.

"Why you..." Skulker yelled, as he activated the beam cannon on his left arm. The ghost reacted quickly and jumped into the air, avoiding the impact of the blast, then he fired two green energy blasts towards the hunter who managed to avoid them both, although just barely.

Plasmius had managed to balance himself in the air and looked at Juukka with a mixture of surprise and anger. The creature landed on the edge of the roof and then jumped down to the ground. Both Vlad and Skulker did the same, landing on either side of the creature.

_This could become more difficult than I first anticipated, _Plasmius thought, his frustration clearly visible.

Skulker on the other hand was smiling._ "Maybe I was wrong about this ghost after all. I love prey that fights back. For me, that is the real thrill of the hunt."_

"Let's see how you handle this!" Plasmius yelled as he formed an energy blast in his right hand.

Juukka reacted fast. He leaped directly towards the half-ghost, giving him no chance to aim his gathered energy at him.

Shocked at the sudden display of aggression by his adversary, Plasmius absorbed the energy back into his hand. He jumped a small distance backwards and then formed a large, sharp energy blade with both hands. In a flash, he swiped the weapon at his opponent but gasped in shock and surprise as he discovered that he had only struck air.

"Plasmius, behind you!"

Juukka re-appeared in the air behind the half-ghost, putting his hands together in one large fist and slamming it into his opponent's back. Now it was Vlad's turn to scream as he landed face down on the ground.

_How is this possible? Why didn't I see this coming? _he thought while trying to fight the pain that was overwhelming him.

* * *

Danny had finally reached the intersection. Floating in the air, he looked with surprise at the situation on the ground, while placing a hand behind his neck._ S_omething serious seemed to have happened; he could see many people standing around a car in the middle of the intersection and there were lights of approaching police cars in the distance, coming from his left and his right._ What's going on?_

Deciding it would be better to stay invisible for the moment, he flew to the ground and landed in the crowd. As the teen walked invisibly among the people in the crowd, he overheard several snatches of conversations taking place._ Hopefully this way I'm able to find out more._

"What was that thing? I've never seen something like that in my life."

"I don't know. Maybe it was a ghost, but I think it looked more like some kind of animal."

"Why do we always have to deal with these ghost attacks? Why are they still happening? I thought Mayor Masters had promised to rid Amity Park of these ghosts."

_So it was a ghost after all. _Danny thought in surprise.

"Many people may see him as a hero, but I think it is all the fault of that Danny Phantom kid. I believe Mayor Masters is right, his presence alone attracts all kinds of ghosts here. If he was really a hero he would leave our city."

The teen looked sadly at the elderly woman who just said this. He sighed._ Although I should have gotten used to it by now, it still hurts. I'm only trying to help them. _He quickly pushed it aside though, as he heard a young woman saying something that piqued his interest.

"Yes, that girl sitting over there was attacked by that horrible ghost creature. I heard that if it wasn't for her father that thing would have killed her."

Danny carefully stepped forward, hoping to hear more about this. He had to hurry though, as the police sirens were getting louder with each second.

* * *

Skulker hadn't moved an inch since he saw Juukka smash Plasmius to the ground. The creature was still standing next to the half-ghost, apparently giving him the time to get back on his feet again. 

_I should do something, but given the short distance between Juukka and Plasmius, the risk would just be too great._

The angry halfa slowly rose to his feet with a painful expression on his face. He carefully turned his still aching body around to look at the opponent who had humiliated him. "How dare you?" Plasmius hissed.

_Plasmius, don't let you anger get the best of you. Get away from him so we can regroup._

During all this, Juukka still didn't make a move. Plasmius noticed that the being was staring at him, but there was no anger or hatred visible in the creature's eyes. If he didn't know better he would classify his expression as simple curiosity.

Plasmius knew that the best tactical option at this time would be to withdraw and regroup with Skulker. However, at that moment he felt so humiliated that he couldn't bring himself to walk away. "This fight has only just begun," he said threateningly, "I'll make you pay for this."

Juukka still didn't make a move, although he did tilt his head slightly to the left.

* * *

"Are you alright, child? Did that monster hurt you in any way?" an elderly man asked with concern. 

Danny had managed to get close enough to the girl to hear what was being said. _So she is the one who saw the ghost up close, _he thought.

"Why do you people keep saying all these things? I already told you, he didn't hurt me. In fact, he saved my life and my dad's." the girl answered angrily.

"Is this true?" the man now stepped towards Jacqueline's father, who had just given his daughter a bottle of water that he had kept in the car. "Did that creature really save your life?"

"No, I mean...I don't know."

"Dad!"

"I'm sorry, Jacqueline, but right now I just don't know what to think. It...it could have saved our lives, but I'm not sure, everything happened so fast."

Danny was very surprised to hear this. He wanted to listen further but the sirens of the approaching police cars made it almost impossible to hear anything at this point. The teen flew into the air and landed on the top of an office-building nearby, overlooking the entire area. _I couldn't hear were that ghost went to. He could have gone in any direction by now. What should I do?_

Jacqueline took another sip of water from the bottle. _Everyone is twisting my story around. No one believes that he really has saved our lives, not even my dad. If they find him he might even be...killed. No. _Tears formed in her eyes. _S_he lowered her head and stared at the ground. Images of the creature flashed rapidly before her eyes. The golden symbol on his chest, his bony tail, the long, white ragged spikes on his helmet. The ghost looking at her hand which was holding his, the moment he picked her and her dad up and jumped away. "Thank you." she whispered softly.

* * *

After a few more seconds, without warning, Plasmius struck. He lifted his right fist and slammed it directly into Juukka's stomach, making the creature gasp for air. The ghost seemed to be in tremendous pain as he clutched his stomach while taking a few steps back. 

However, even before Plasmius could make his next move, Juukka recovered, placed his hands together and started to form a green ecto-blast.

"What? No!"

Within a second the ghost released the energy and blasted the older half-ghost toward Skulker. The hunter was not able to get out of the way in time and Plasmius' body smashed into him full force, causing his back to hit a large freight container only a few meters behind him. The metallic sound that was produced by this collision echoed in all directions.

"I can't believe he did that to us," Plasmius groaned, while trying to stand up again. _I may be half ghost, but my human body does have limitations. That stupid beast really hurt me._

Skulker, on the other hand, was already standing. Thanks to his mechanical body he hadn't felt anything of the impact with the container, and he was ready to fight again. Unfortunately, his employer wasn't in such good shape.

"Maybe it would be wiser if we leave, Plasmius. You don't really—"

"I'm fine, Skulker! I will not leave this place without Juukka under my command. I refuse to give up on this just because things have gotten a bit out of hand. I only need a few more seconds to recover, only, only a few s-seconds." He started to breathe heavily while speaking these last words.

_It looks to me that you need more then that, _Skulker thought unwillingly, deciding it would be better not to say this out loud. "I'll try to keep that creature busy, I recommend that you put those seconds to good use."

Vlad didn't reply, instead he lifted his hand and gestured that he agreed; it was clear that the pain was getting to him.

Skulker looked at the ghost in front of him who hadn't moved since his last attack. The hunter formed a large energy blade on his right arm and flew directly towards his opponent. However, with the distance quickly closing between them, Juukka formed a sword of his own in both hands. Skulker brought his blade down with all the strength he had, but was blocked surprisingly easily by Juukka's own weapon. _I was afraid of this. I'm not able to break his defense, he is way stronger then I expected._

Juukka and Skulker struggled for almost half a minute without either of them gaining a clear advantage, but then Juukka finally managed to push the mechanical ghost back step by step. "No, this can't be!" the hunter yelled in frustration. "You can't be stronger than me!" Juukka kept pushing Skulker backwards. _My blade is on the verge of breaking, if this continues then I'll—_

Suddenly, Plasmius appeared directly beside Skulker and Juukka. "I thank you for your assistance; those seconds were all I needed." He then fired an energy blast directly at the animal-like ghost who was unable to defend himself. Releasing another scream the creature crashed through the windows of a managerial office, knocking over a computer monitor on a desk before colliding against the wall. The ghost hit a switch, turning off all the lights in the room. Plasmius could see Juukka flee from the darkened room, and he could hear the muffled cries of the frightened people inside."

"Glad to see you on your feet again," the hunter replied with a small grin.

Plasmius grinned as well. "It is as I said earlier, my dear Skulker. Through the years I've learned to keep a few reserves behind; you never know when you'll need them."

Their attention was drawn again to the building as they heard a strange, yet familiar sound coming out of it. Suddenly Juukka jumped out of the broken window, but instead of attacking he fell down on his knees after landing. The creature grabbed his left shoulder and let out several painful, sad cries.

"Hmm, it seems that your last blast actually wounded him, Plasmius," Skulker said in a confused tone.

"Why do you act so surprised?" Plasmius chuckled, "my attacks are powerful; of course it wounded him."

"I don't know, but your attack hit him in the chest area, not his shoul---"

"Enough of this Skulker, let's end this!" Plasmius leaped forward toward Juukka, who was still kneeling. The half-ghost delivered the being a merciless uppercut, sending him flying high into the air. "Skulker, now!"

The hunter activated his jet pack and flew high into the air as well, placing himself a considerable distance higher than his prey. Juukka was motionless during his flight and apparently didn't notice that Skulker had taken up a position above him. Just before Juukka's body reached its highest point, Skulker dived down and plowed his elbow in the middle of the creature's back. The sound of the impact was sickening and made Plasmius cringe, but the scream that followed was even worse. A terrible sound, filled with agony, spread like thunder in all directions. Plasmius covered his ears, the intensity of Juukka's cry was just too much. Skulker, on the other hand, didn't seem to be bothered by it at all.

* * *

"What was that?" Danny said to himself, still standing on the roof of the office-building. "Oh man, that sounded terrible, " he murmured softly. _I'm not sure if it is related to that ghost or not but I intend to find out. _Staying invisible, he flew into the air heading into the direction the sound came from.

* * *

"My dear Skulker, how should I say this?" Plasmius said while rubbing his temple. It was quite clear that he was trying to remain calm but was doing a very bad job of it. "When I said 'Let's end this' I didn't mean it this literally, you dolt!" 

"Eh, I..." Skulker didn't really know what to say.

Plasmius and Skulker were both looking at the result of the hunter's last attack. Juukka lay face down on the ground buried deep into the concrete. There were cracks everywhere around him, a clear sign of the force Skulker had released in his attack.

"I, I..." The half-ghost was at a loss of words. "If Juukka doesn't survive this then I am going to hold you responsible for this disaster. He is worth nothing to me dead!"

Skulker knelt beside Juukka's motionless body. He carefully stretched his hand out and touched the Juukka's back. Then he took a small device out of his belt and held it above the creature. The little appliance made faint beeping sounds and two green lights on top of it started flashing.

"What are you doing?" Vlad asked, still very angry.

"This little device I am holding is an energy scanner." The hunter replied while looking at the readingst. "Although weak, I can clearly detect active ghost energy within him. He'll be fine, but it will take some time before he gets over this."

Plasmius said nothing, but kept glaring at the hunter.

Skulker frowned. "You said that we needed to drain him of his energy. That is exactly what I've just done. His energy levels are very low, but definitely stable."

"Yes, I wanted to drain him of his energy, but not like this," the half-ghost sighed defeated, rubbing his temple again. "In order for the transition to work, Juukka has to be fully consciousand weakened at the same time. In this sit—"

"_**Warning, large energy build-up detected, warning!**_

"Energy build-up? Skulker, what does that computer of yours mean?"

"That's strange," the hunter answered. "According to these readings, a dangerous level of energy is increasing rapidly and it is very close by."

"What? How is that possible? There is no--- Skulker, look!" A shocked Plasmius stretched his arm in the direction of Juukka's body, which had slowly begun to fade away.

The hunter quickly jumped on his feet. "It was a duplicate! But if this Juukka wasn't real, then..."

"_**Warning, energy build-up reaching critical levels!" **_

"Skulker?" the half-ghost's tone was slightly nervous.

"_Grrrr"_

Both Plasmius and Skulker turned around. Behind them, several meters away, stood Juukka with a violently glowing sphere of energy in his outstretched hands.

"He—, he tricked us," Plasmius stammered.

"And we fell right into his trap," Skulker added in disbelief. "How could I not have seen this coming?"

In a fraction of a second, Juukka lowered his body until he was leaning on his right knee. He then released his attack in the largest wave of energy Plasmius had ever seen.

Another terrifying scream accompanied the wave; not a scream of pain, but of victory.

End of chapter 2:

* * *

I hope you liked the chapter. Thanks for reading everyone! 


	3. Intervention

Thank you so much for the reviews. I'm sorry for not replying to each of the but I don't have much time at the moment. I try to add my replies to them tomorrow. Thanks again!

I do have to warn with this chapter though. There are some scenes of violence. I rated this T but maybe I should change this.

R.A.Y.O.R. (Read At Own Risk)

I should add that this chapter was approved by one of the moderators on the Danny Phantom Online forum (DPOF) who are a G-rated forum. But I'll put the warning up to be sure.

I hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 3: Intervention

Plasmius and Skulker saw how the large energy wave was approaching them fast. The half-ghost realized there was not enough time to avoid the blast; a direct confrontation seemed to be their only option. He stretched his arms forward and spread out his hands, a violet glow started to appear around his body as he focused his energy as fast as he could.

"Skulker, get behind me, now!"

The hunter, still angry at himself for not seeing through Juukka's trick, stepped behind Plasmius, who formed a large, round, energy shield in front of him. The bright, green energy wave released by their opponent collided with Plasmius' barely formed barrier. Despite all the power and strength the half-ghost had poured into it he immediately felt his shield start to buckle.

"I can't hold this... his power... it's too much," the half-ghost stammered with disbelief.

Skulker watched how Plasmius was slowly pushed backwards despite his best efforts to keep the blast at bay. The hunter realized that although he could escape, the half-ghost would not be able to now that he was locked in a deadly struggle. Feeling no desire to abandon his ally, and knowing that he could be rewarded well for this afterwards, he activated the rockets on his back to confront Juukka himself.

"_Grrr."_

The surprised hunter turned around, quickly de-activating his backpack. Two Juukka duplicates were standing before him, and they didn't look very happy. Their glowing eyes narrowed in an angry glare. Fists clenched and their bodies leaning forward, tails positioned high in the air, both Juukkas were ready to strike at any moment.

_He made even more duplicates of himself, that beast wanted to attack us from behind all along_. _He is definitely more intelligent than I gave him credit for._

"Plasmius!" the hunter yelled. "Hang on a little longer, I'll deal with this!"

The half-ghost didn't respond, but not because he didn't want to, but rather because he couldn't. He was pouring so much energy into sustaining the shield in front of him that it was straining him to the point where he could not engage in any other activity; Even speaking, a simple action, was impossible at the moment.

"Alright, prey, now you will see why I am the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter." Skulker activated his rockets and flew toward his opponents. One Juukka lowered himself on all fours while the other leaped directly toward the hunter, extending two sharp blades from the sheath on his right hand. The hunter reacted fast and before his opponent could strike, he grabbed the creature by the face with his right hand. At this, the ghost copy let out a cry in surprise.

"Got you." Skulker grinned, then threw his opponent towards the ground with all the force he had.The duplicate let out a painful scream as he landed on his back with a heavy thud.

Seeing this happen, the other Juukka doppelganger launched himself at the metallic ghost as well. Before Skulker could react, the creature landed on his chest, grabbing both sides of his head while using the sharp claws on his back legs to get a good grip on the smooth surface of his armor.

"Get off of me!" Skulker yelled while trying to pry away the copy's hands. He stumbled backwards as he attempted to get rid of his attacker. The creature held on, balancing himself and pushing down the claws of his hands deeper into Skulker's metal head. He then wrapped his tail around the hunter's neck, preventing him from resisting as he attempted to wrench his head off.

_He's trying to pull off my head!_ the hunter thought in panic, hearing wires snap and circuitry break. _He must know about my weakness!_

Despite Skulker's best efforts he couldn't dislodge the creature. From the corner of his left eye he saw that the other doppelganger was standing up again; realizing that he wouldn't stand a chance against them both he saw only one option left, and it wasn't a pleasant one.

With his right hand he grabbed the ghost duplicate by the throat while extending his energy blade from his left arm. With a powerful roar he thrust his weapon straight through the chest of the Juukka copy. The creature let out a terrible and agonizing cry as Skulker's blade emerged from his back. The other doppelganger looked on in horror as he saw what the hunter had done to his comrade. Green and glowing ectoplasm poured out of the wound, falling on the metallic ghost's chest before slowly flowing towards the ground.

Plasmius had no idea what was happening behind him, but the barely audible battle sounds gave him enough of a clue. Unfortunately, he couldn't look to see if Skulker was indeed fighting Juukka's duplicates like he believed. He needed all his concentration on keeping the barrier from collapsing against the intense and loud energy wave Juukka was generating. However, for a moment, he did notice that the blast of the animal ghost was weakening; it felt as if something was distracting the creature. Although it wasn't enough to go on the offensive, the half-ghost gratefully used this opportunity to strengthen his energy shield even more.

_Whatever you're doing back there Skulker, keep it up._

The impaled ghost duplicate was trembling all over, desperately trying to remain still as the slightest bit of movement caused him even more excruciating pain. His eyes were wide open as he stared at Skulker with shock and fear. He had withdrawn his hands from the hunter's face and now kept them at a little distance from his sides, slightly in the air, shaking heavily. His tail slowly retreated from the hunters neck and hung motionless under his body.

Skulker showed no emotion towards the heavily injured creature. He was a hunter after all, so the scene held no surprise for him, but it held no triumph for him either. If he could have, he would have avoided injuring his prey this critically, but it had to be done. He tightened his grip on the duplicate's neck and lifted him high into the air, still impaled on his energy blade. The poor creature let out another terrible cry as the blade cut even deeper into his body. Ignoring the ectoplasm dripping onto his forehead, Skulker then threw the duplicate to the ground with all his might.

The ghost copy landed with a sickening thud on the concrete, the force of the throw made him tumble three times before halting on his back, leaving behind a trail of his green life-force. The creature emitted soft, groaning sounds of pain, his arms and legs in spasms, his head swinging wildly. He opened his eyes and looked directly at Skulker again, fear, shock and disbelief clearly visible in his eyes.

Not wanting to let the Juukka duplicate suffer any more, Skulker retracted his blade and activated his laser, preparing to fire an energy blast. But before he could fire, the other doppelganger landed next to his wounded comrade and carefully lifted its left hand and squeezed it a bit. For a brief moment they gazed at each other before the wounded copy slowly faded away. What remained in its place was a small, green floating energy sphere. The surviving duplicate brought to the emblem on his chest, where it quickly disappeared. The entire ghost's body briefly lit with an intense green glow.

In the meantime, Plasmius had managed to push Juukka back, taking advantage of the ghost's weakening assault. However, any hope he felt was shattered when the strength of the blast began to increase._ Skulker, hurry up! I don't know how much longer I can keep this barrier intact. _

Skulker was quite surprised at the scene he had just witnessed between the two ghost duplicates; he truly had no idea what to really make of this. The remaining Juukka doppelganger stood up again and turned around, glaring angrily at him. Within a second, he let out a fearsome roar and lunged straight at the hunter. Skulker retracted his laser and re-formed the energy blade instead, swiping it at his incoming opponent. As expected, the Juukka copy dodged the attack and landed just to his right.

Fearing a direct attack from that angle, Skulker made a 360-degree swipe with his sword as he quickly spun around. His opponent jumped just in time, then made several backflips to put some distance between them. The creature landed on all fours and lifted its tail into the air. The tip of the tail suddenly split open like a blossoming flower and fired three darts out from its center. The hunter realized with dread that although he could evade the darts, his employer was standing behind him, still struggling with the original Juukka's blast. If he were to avoid the darts, Plasmius would be hit. Seeing no other choice, he once again activated his laser and started to fire at the incoming projectiles. He managed to destroy two of them but he wasn't fast enough to disable the third one.

Knowing all too well that he could go intangible to avoid the last dart he crossed his arms to protect his face, preparing for impact. However, at the last moment the Juukka copy stood up again and raised his left arm into the air; the projectile immediately changed course and flew into the air where it harmlessly exploded.

Skulker was surprised and confused at the same time. "Did you just do what I think you did?"

The creature gave a quick nod, then started running towards Skulker on all fours while closing the tip of his tail again; in response the hunter fired several blasts from his laser which the duplicate easily avoided. Skulker activated his rockets and flew towards his opponent, but before he could make contact the ghost duplicate jumped into the air, spinning three times before landing. Skulker turned around fast, but not fast enough to avoid being hit in the chest by an energy blast Juukka had just fired from his left hand. With a scream the hunter fell to the ground, skidding several meters before coming to a halt face down. While trying to lift himself up he saw with horror how his opponent smashed his right fist into the ground; a large, green glowing shockwave tore up the concrete before it, coming straight at him.

At the last moment, the hunter managed to fly into the air again, but was immediately kicked in the chest by the Juukka duplicate. The force of the attack threw him backwards, making him collide with a parked car, the impact shattering several windows and creating a huge dent in the passenger door. Struggling to stand up again, Skulker realized his vulnerable position.

"**Warning, damage detected to secondary sub-systems in areas B and D. Allocating energy to compensate. Operational effectiveness reduced to 75. Beginning automatic stabilization process immediately, diverting necessary power from non-primary systems. Cessation of current activities is strongly advised." **

Only he could hear the message, as it was directly transmitted to the cockpit. Although still able to fight, his onboard computer was diverting power to deal with the damage inflicted by that Juukka creature. This would make his attacks less powerful, and he already was having difficulty keeping up with his prey. While still on his knees he stared at the ghost duplicate. He was standing on his back legs again, glaring angrily at the hunter, but he didn't appear to make a move. Skulker would have preferred the curious and innocent look he and Plasmius had seen earlier. They had gone too far with this, and there was no turning back.

Plasmius was having more and more trouble with each passing second. The barrier he had created was on the verge of collapsing and he just didn't have the energy to keep going.

"_Blast! I should have never taken such a huge gamble with all this. I never thought duplicating myself, in order to keep my mayoral position safe, would cost me so greatly! At full strength, I would have no trouble getting the upper hand in this battle, but now… Skulker, where the blazes are you?!"_

* * *

"Mr. Mayor, are you alright? You are looking very pale, sir."

Vlad Masters was still sitting behind his desk, having just gone through the latest reports when his secretary walked in. She immediately noticed that he wasn't feeling well.

"Thank you for your concern, Mrs. Marble, but I feel fine. There is no need to worry."

"Are you sure, sir? Perhaps I can get you something to make you feel better?'

"Well, a glass of water would be nice. I feel quite parched."

"I'll get you some water right away, sir."

"Thank you, my dear lady," Vlad Masters said as he watched her leave the room. As soon as she closed the door behind her he put his head in his hands and sighed defeatedly.

_Why? Why did I do this? Could I have made an error in judgement? Maybe I shouldn't have attacked him like that. Now he'll never join me, at least not out of free will. _

He sighed again. That creature, Juukka, could have seen him as a father, but instead he had hurt him, trying to force him to obey. And why? Only because he didn't trust that ghost to make his own decision.

Vlad was awakened from his thoughts when his secretary walked into the room with a glass of water. "Here you are, sir. A glass of refreshing, clear mineral water," she said as she put down the glass on his desk.

"Thank you, Mrs. Marble." He picked up the glass and took a sip.

"Sir, I also wanted to inform you that the Commissioner has arrived together with your most important advisors. They are ready for the emergency meeting."

"Excellent, please show them in."

"I will, sir."

While his secretary walked out of the room Vlad checked his hair and his face, looking in a small mirror. He really didn't want to deal with those emergency meetings, but he had put himself into this mess and he had no choice but to see this through. Quickly putting the mirror in his drawer he cleared his throat and stood up. He put on a friendly smile as the Commissioner and his advisors walked in; the only thing he could hope for now was a real miracle.

* * *

"So you're saying this ghost has actually saved your lives?" a police officer said with disbelief.

"Yes, that is what I said, for the third time already, why don't you believe me?" Jacqueline, who stood next to her father, was slowly losing patience although she did her best to stay polite. The police had begun to establish a containment zone around the industrial area and had guided all the people away from the intersection towards the entrance of a residential area. Once there, several police officers started questioning the bystanders to gather more information on what exactly had taken place.

"It's not that I don't believe you, but we are getting eyewitness reports that tell a different story."

The girl let out an exasperated sigh. "Those people were standing at a distance, my dad and I were the only ones who got near that being, how could they have gotten a good view? When the missiles were coming everyone was running away. And that ghost saved our lives. He lifted me and my father from the ground—if it wasn't for him those missiles would have definitely hit us."

The officer turned towards Jacqueline's father. "Sir, could you confirm your daughter's statement?"

He hesitated before answering, as he still couldn't believe that the ghost or whatever it was had actually saved their lives. Not after all those terrible ghost attacks in the past, with Undergrowth as the most recent and terrifying example. Yet, he couldn't get rid of the feeling...

"Yes, I can confirm this to be true, this ghost has indeed saved our lives."

* * *

Skulker finally managed to stand up again, looking nervously at the Juukka duplicate who was still glaring at him. Behind the ghost copy he could see Plasmius still struggling against the massive blast. His barrier was cracking; if the hunter didn't do something soon, this battle would be over for his partner.

Activating his rockets again, he jumped into the air and flew towards his adversary as fast as he could.

The duplicate jumped sideways to avoid the incoming ghost, but as he did Skulker fired a rope with a small hook that attached itself to the doppelganger's tail. In reaction the animal ghost fired an ecto-blast, but the hunter managed to avoid it by diving away just in time. Then Skulker flew quickly toward the Juukka clone, who barely avoided him by rolling to his right.

An evil grin appeared on the hunters face. "Now is my chance." Using both hands, he grabbed the end of the rope, the hook part still attached to his prey. The ghost copy's eyes widened at catching what Skulker was doing. Starting to panic, the creature tried to cut the rope with his claws but he was too late.

Laughing, the hunter flew into the air while reeling in the line at the same time. Despite resisting with all his might, the Juukka doppelganger was pulled along into the air as well. Skulker started to spin around, accelerating quickly, with the ghost still attached to the hook. The being released several cries while trying frantically to cut the line, but the hunter was spinning too fast for the creature to get a good grip.

After several seconds, Skulker slowed down. He allowed Juukka to fall several meters before he yanked on the rope again, then raised his arms above his head, causing his opponent to fly even higher into the air. At the moment the duplicate reached its highest point Skulker flung him toward the ground with all his might. The creature let out one final scream before he smashed into the ground with a heavy, sickening thud.

Skulker quickly landed and looked with satisfaction at the result. Just as before Juukka was lying face down on the ground, except this time he was buried deep within the concrete.

"Skulker, do something! I can't keep this up anymore!"

The hunter looked around, and saw that Plasmius was now down on one knee with a painful expression. The barrier was on the verge of breaking, so he knew he had no time to lose. But before the hunter could act, the massive energy blast that had been pushing against Vlad's shield all this time suddenly changed course and flew into the air, where it exploded in a bright flash of green light. Shockwaves spread across Amity Park, illuminating everything with an eerie glow.

Plasmius fell down on both his hands and knees, panting heavily. He felt horrible, his body was ached all over and he was terribly weak. It took him a few seconds to realize what had really happened. _The blast, I didn't stop it, it changed course... but how?_

With difficulty he lifted his head up a bit, his vision was blurred but what he could see was enough to give him a real shock. The original Juukka was standing right before him.

_No!_ Plasmius started to panic. _I'm completely defenseless, I have to get up!_ Although he tried really hard, he couldn't find the strength to stand up again. His struggle against Juukka's blast had left him completely exhausted.

Skulker was still standing some distance away from Plasmius, unsure what to do. He wanted to fly towards his employer to fight against Juukka, but he was afraid that doing so would provoke the creature to launch a new attack, and with Plasmius in his current weakened state...

The hunter awoke from his thoughts when he heard a soft groaning coming from his left. As he turned to look, he saw the duplicate try to stand up again, clasping his left shoulder. His legs trembled, his chest and left shoulder armor were damaged and parts of his fur were torn.

Wary of any move the creature might attempt, Skulker took a few steps backwards so that he could keep the doppelganger and his employer, who was still in a kneeling position before the original Juukka, in his line of sight. The duplicate stared at the hunter for a few seconds, the harsh expression in his eyes slowly disappearing and becoming replaced with a softer, friendlier one. The emotion that had now taken over drove out any of the previous signs of rage and anger.

Skulker didn't really know what to think of this sudden change. _He looks so different now. Even though his face is covered behind that mask, his eyes are saying enough. But why now? Why his sudden change in behavior?_ The metal ghost tensed as he saw the duplicate slowly move his hands, lowering them and then letting them hang loosely at his sides. There was a glowing wound on the shoulder the creature had been holding, obviously caused when the hunter had thrown him to the ground just a minute earlier. Slowly the doppelganger raised his hands into the air, careful not to make any sudden moves.

_What is he doing? It looks almost like as if he is surrend...What?_ Then realization struck him. _Surrendering, why? After all that happened._ Skulker halted his thoughts as he saw the creature begin to fade away. Within a few seconds he had completely disappeared, except for the faint glow of his eyes, which remained visible for several more seconds.

Skulker set his sight on Plasmius and the original Juukka creature, who was still standing right in front of his employer. "I don't understand, what is happening here?"

Plasmius, still panting heavily, was looking in despair at Juukka. He realized that their roles had been completely reversed. This creature was supposed to be his prey, he and Skulker were supposed to be the hunters, but now... He was kneeling on the ground, completely defenseless and helpless. If this creature wanted to finish him off right now, there would be nothing he could do to stop it. The half-ghost kept staring at Juukka's armored feet, not even daring to lift his head any higher, as fear run wildly through his body. He tensed even more when he saw the creature lower himself slowly until he was kneeling on his left knee. He then carefully extended his right hand.

It took the half-ghost a few seconds to fully realize what was happening, but when it struck him his eyes shot wide open in amazement and shock. While trying to show humility, he slowly lifted his head to look at Juukka's face. The man found two friendly and curious eyes staring back at him. Immediately a sign of hope appeared on Plasmius' features, slowly replacing the tired look that had occupied his face before.

Thoughts were raging through his mind as he could feel a mixture of hope and relief inside of him._ I don't believe it! I can't believe it! Is this true? Does he actually want to help me? Or is this a trick? But look at his eyes... No, this can't be a trick, maybe, maybe I still have a chance left._

A weak smile appeared on Plasmius' face as he extended his hand towards Juukka._ Maybe, if I play my cards right I'll— _

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw Juukka suddenly looking up, apparently noticing something behind him.

_Skulker! _

Plasmius' eyes shot wide open as he heard a buzzing sound coming from behind. He turned his head and saw that the hunter had aimed his weapon at the animal ghost and was ready to fire.

"No, you fool! Don't fire, don't—"

"Plasmius, duck!"

With a loud bang he shot a missile straight towards the two, the half-ghost quickly dropped to the ground but Juukka didn't react as fast. Just before impact the projectile deployed a green glowing net that quickly expanded, capturing the creature directly inside of it. Juukka let out a scream as flying net's momentum lifted him from the ground, only to make him land roughly several meters further away.

Plasmius looked at the desperate creature, lying on his back and struggling inside the net. He moved his legs and arms frantically, releasing several panicked and fearful cries as he desperately tried to escape his prison. Skulker walked towards his employer with a big grin on his face; he wanted to help Plasmius to his feet but saw that the half-ghost had managed to stand up again by himself. Expecting a compliment from the half-ghost, he was surprised to see that he only received a scowl from him instead.

"You know, I've captured that creature, the least you could say is 'well done, Skulker' or 'your help is greatly appreciated,'" the hunter said with a frown.

A glaring Plasmius lifted a finger and opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, the only thing that came out was a long, defeated sigh. "What's done is done. We'll just have to let him join our side by force." The half-ghost realized that the last chance he had to handle this peacefully was ruined by his ally. Yet he didn't really feel anger; the hunter had managed to capture the creature after all. Either way, by free choice or by force, he would go home with this mysterious ghost under his command. With slow, aching paces he walked towards their still struggling prey, Skulker following quickly behind.

Plasmius halted at Juukka's right side; the creature noticed him and turned his head to make eye-contact. Holding the net tightly with his claws he looked up at Plasmius with open, trembling eyes. The half-ghost recognized the emotion in Juukka's eyes immediately, the feeling of betrayal. That was something he had seen in the eyes of many people in the past, and most likely this wouldn't be the last time. Betrayal was definitely not strange to him, as he had experienced it himself as well. It had kept his hatred and anger burning for all those years and also was the perfect motivation to keep his desire for revenge alive and well.

_You may feel that I've betrayed you, but you don't know what true betrayal feels like. So you have to forgive me if I don't feel any sympathy for your situation._ Despite that, he was feeling regret that his goal would have to be achieved in this rather forceful way. For a second, he contemplated whether he should cut open the net to show the creature his good intentions. But, the risk that he would escape, leaving him empty-handed, was just too great. It would require trust, and that particular emotion was something he, after what had happened in his younger years, barely showed to anyone anymore. Except... maybe for Skulker. With a sigh he turned towards the hunter. "Start the procedure, I don't want to waste any more time."

The hunter nodded, grabbed the net and tossed it and his captured prey casually over his shoulder. The being let out another cry.

"Now, what would be a good place to do this?" Skulker murmured while looking around. "Ah, that tree over there looks promising." He headed towards a large chestnut tree, one with an especially thick and low hanging branch on it, making it an excellent choice.

Meanwhile, Juukka, who had stopped struggling, managed to turn himself around a bit inside the net so he could see what was going on. The creature kept looking at Plasmius with two very sad-looking eyes. The half-ghost, who still hadn't moved, looked back at Juukka for a few seconds before averting his eyes, then caught up with his ally.

When Plasmius reached the tree, Skulker had already tied a rope around the net, and threw the other end over the low-hanging branch. Then he started to pull on it, slowly lifting his still struggling prey into the air. When the net was hanging around Plasmius' eye level, the half-ghost made a short wave with his right hand, indicating to the hunter that he could stop. Skulker tied the rope around the tree, inspected the knot and then walked towards his captured prey with a satisfied grin.

Seeing Skulker standing close beside him, Juukka released a sad whimper, and began to struggle even harder. An evil smirk appeared on Skulker's features, as he patted his prey three times on the front of his helmet before suddenly activating an energy blade on his left arm. He grabbed Juukka's helmet and pushed the creature's head backwards, while placing his blade on the soft skin of its neck. The animal ghost started to shake, as fear intensified in its eyes.

Skulker chuckled, "You have been a very worthy prey. Not as good as a certain ghost boy I know, but still very close. I should kill you right now, your head would prove to be a valuable addition to my trophy gallery. Luckily for you, my employer has other plans. But still..." His grin widened as he pushed the blade harder against the creature's skin, making him cry faintly.

Fearing that the hunter would not be able to control himself, Plasmius quickly stepped in, placing a hand on Skulker's arm. That's enough," the half-ghost said with a dark expression. "I don't want you to kill him."

Skulker looked at Plasmius, understanding the half-ghost's meaning. He withdrew his blade and let go of his prey.

"Don't worry, I'll reward you well for this, Skulker." The half-ghost said wth a grin. "I have designed a revolutionary new and very special weapon for you that has just been prototyped. I'm sure you would love to try this one out." He chuckled. "I think Daniel would prove to be an ideal target to test it out on."

The hunter began to smile like a little kid who just heard he'll get a new toy. "Tell me more about this weapon, Plasmius. I'm intrigued."

"I will, my dear Skulker, after we are finished here. Now..." Plasmius said seriously while pointing at the net, "activate the energy drain so that we can begin the transfer—"

Suddenly, a green blast flew past Plasmius and cut through the rope, dropping Juukka to the ground and allowing him to escape from the net. Not hesitating for a second, the creature sprinted away and disappeared into a small alley between two office buildings at the other side of the street. Skulker fired a small device in the direction Juukka was running, then looked at his onboard computer.

Skulker smiled. "Got him, Energy signature amplifier activated."

Plasmius turned around. "What now? Who—" he halted his sentence as he saw a boy land in front of him.

"Daniel," the half-ghost hissed.

* * *

End of chapter 3.

I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading. I know it is a bit late but Happy New Year everyone!


	4. A change in plans

_**ShiningZephyr: Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm really happy to hear that you like it! Thank you!**_

**_MutantLover09: Many thanks to you as well and also for the virtual cookie. I'm very glad you enjoyed it. _**

R.A.Y.O.R. (Read At Own Risk)

Contains scenes of violence.

My deepest thanks to my beta-readers Bluemoonalto and Pearl84. I would have never been able to do this without your help. Thank you so much for everything!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. All the characters of this great series are property of Butch Hartman.

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* * *

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_**Chapter 4: A change in plans**_

"Vlad," the ghost boy replied, crossing his arms, a slight frown appearing on his face. "It never gets boring around here since you became mayor. What are you and your pal up to this time?"

Plasmius, glaring angrily, ignored Danny's comment. He pushed his cape back with his right hand, his eyes starting to emit a menacing red glow. "You shouldn't have come here, my boy. You just made a terrible mistake."

"Is that so?" A little smile appeared on Danny's face as he tilted his head slightly to the right. "You haven't forgotten that this is my town, right? You can't just expect to get away with whatever you're planning without me finding out about it."

Plasmius didn't reply but kept glaring at him with an expression of pure anger. The older half-ghost clenched his fists and his clothing started to wave, as if a strong wind were blowing. Danny assumed that this was caused by a surge of energy within his body, fueled by his growing rage.

"Geez, Vlad, you look like you're about to explode. Hey, Skulker, you should move back; you might accidentally cause him to detonate!" The ghost boy laughed a bit while rubbing his nose. "I really should make this a new hobby. How many times have I foiled your plans this week? Three times? Four?" Apparently unfazed by Plasmius's intensifying anger, he started to count his fingers. "Hmm, we had that incident with the mobile ghost portal on Monday, your new weather machine that didn't turn out to be waterproof on Wednesday, your meeting on Thursday with the Ghost Zone mafia that I..."

Skulker was watching and listening to all of this with real surprise. He had to admit, the whelp had some guts. At this point his employer was nearly boiling. It was true that this had been a bad week for Plasmius, as the ghost boy had successfully managed to thwart all of his plans. But none of the failures seemed to have affected him as much as this one. The boy had just make him lose Juukka.

"Oh yeah, and then of course if we count today—"

"Enough of this, you arrogant brat!"

"Ooh, struck a nerve there, didn't I?" Danny chuckled. "Was that ghost really so important to you?" The boy's face then turned serious as he crossed his arms again. "Tell me, Vlad. What exactly are you planning this time?"

Plasmius started to tremble even more than before, as the level of hate and anger he was feeling towards the young ghost boy was reaching its limit. "You should have stayed out of this. Do you know what you've just done?"

"I was here long enough to know that what I did was right. I've never seen that ghost you and Skulker were hunting until today. But I saw how he fought and how you two kept attacking him. Every time he attacked you it was a reaction to what you two were doing, and he never used more violence or force than necessary. Besides, someone who's on the run from you guys can't be all that bad."

Plasmius didn't respond, but continued to glare at Danny.

Seeing that he didn't get a retort from his archenemy, Danny continued, "You really flexed your Mayoral muscles this time, haven't you? Practically the whole Amity Park police force has this place surrounded; I've seen the special anti-ghost unit out there and how people are being kept away from here. Knowing you it isn't to keep them safe, but just to keep them all out so they won't interfere! Not only that, but do you even care about the people being caught in the middle of this battle of yours, with no way to escape? I might not know why you are after this ghost, but it doesn't matter—'cause I'm going to stop you anyway."

Danny now clenched his fists as well, taking one step forward. "I suggest you go home now, Vlad. I'm not going to let you get your selfish hands on that ghost."

Small bolts of lightning started to form around Plasmius' body, and the half-ghost took one deep breath to keep his anger under control. "Under other circumstances I would have found your arrogance, and your sudden ability to think, delightfully amusing. However, this time you've gone too far," he said threateningly. "I want this ghost, I must have him and I won't cease my efforts until I do. If you want to prevent that from happening you'll have to be lucky enough to defeat me first." He then took one step towards Danny while raising his clenched left fist to eye level. "I'm warning you now, Daniel, I'm prepared to do anything to achieve my goal. Anything," he hissed.

Danny was slightly surprised at Plasmius' menacing tone and felt a wave of unease rising within his body. He hadn't seen Vlad this malicious since that whole cloning business with his cousin Danielle a few months earlier. The teen rubbed the back of his neck for a moment, watching with apprehension as Plasmius lowered his arms to his sides.

"Eh, I was watching that battle you were in, at least the second part, that is. I saw how much that ghost weakened you—you really think that fighting me is such a smart idea?" He smirked, his confidence returning. "Not that I wouldn't mind beating you to a pulp, I just wanted to give you a fair warning, that's all. Besides, I'm still young, in the prime of my life and I have friends. You, on the other hand, are bitter, lonely and old. Have you already gotten a cat like I advised you so long ago?"

Skulker's mouth fell open when he heard the ghost boy's taunts. That Phantom kid had become really cocky—well, more cocky than usual—since he had obtained those new ice powers. They definitely made him even more valuable as a prey for sure, but they also made him a lot more difficult to hunt. He and Plasmius hadn't yet managed to find a good counter to these new abilities. They had proven to be very effective, as the ghost boy knew all too well.

ENOUGH!!" Plasmius roared in pure anger, as he flew directly towards Danny with his right fist ready to strike.

"Whoa!" the boy said in surprise. He quickly jumped to the left and then flew up into the air as Plasmius' fist smashed into the ground, forming cracks in all directions. While hovering in the air he placed his hands together and formed a glowing, blue sphere. "Dude, two words: anger management. And here's a free session: Chill!" He then fired the blast.

Plasmius was not fast enough to avoid it and was hit full force. In shock he watched a thick layer of ice cover his entire body; He let out a scream of agony as the chilling cold took over, paralyzing every muscle and sending jolts of pain into the core of his very being. He desperately tried to escape his freezing prison but to no avail, within a few seconds his face was covered as well.

"There, I hope that cools you off." Danny said smugly, while letting out a playful chuckle.

Skulker's initial surprise turned quickly into anger when he witnessed the whelp humiliating his employer. Activating the energy blade on his right arm as well as the rockets on his back, he flew at full speed toward his young prey. Danny, however, saw him coming and dived just as the hunter made a swipe with his sword. Floating underneath the metal ghost, he quickly formed a green energy sphere and fired it at his opponent. The sphere, which turned into a beam, hit Skulker in the stomach and pushed him higher into the air. The hunter managed to get out of the beam within a few seconds. He then flew down again only to halt a few meters away, positioning himself slightly higher then the ghost boy.

"I wouldn't let this go to your head if I were you, whelp." Skulker said seriously while holding his glowing blade before him. "If Plasmius was at full strength, that attack wouldn't have affected him like it did."

"I know," Danny replied casually, shrugging his shoulders. "But hey, I did warn him, didn't I?" A confident smirk appeared on the ghost boy's face. "Instead of talking about that frozen fruitloop over there, wouldn't it be better to talk about you? You really aren't in such a good shape either." With a smile, the boy cracked his knuckles, slightly cocking his head at the same.

The hunter frowned. Although it was painful to admit, there was a certain truth in the whelp's words. His suit had sustained considerable damage during the fight: dents, claw marks and burned spots all inflicted by that blasted Juukka creature. But the internal damage caused by his prey's powerful kick to the chest had been the most troublesome, as it housed several of the most important electronic components that powered and controlled his suit. His onboard computer was stabilizing the main systems, but at a considerable loss of power. His flying speed had been reduced by at least 25 procent, giving him an even harder time during battle.

_The best option would be to withdraw; it would not be wise for us to continue._ The hunter looked down at his employer._ I know how much you wanted this creature, but at this point we just aren't not strong enough to succeed in this mission. Maybe—_

Suddenly, both Danny's and Skulker's attention were drawn to an intense, violent glow that started to form around Plasmius' body. His eyes started to flare vehemently, and after a few seconds he managed to break his prison of ice, releasing a furious scream as he spread out his arms to push the solid ice blocks away from his sides.

"Nice," Danny said, "a little dramatic, but still nice." He crossed his arms again while smiling.

"You," Plasmius hissed. "YOU!!" With that word he opened the palm of his right hand to fire an ecto-blast at the ghost boy, a glowing violet sphere appeared but disappeared again within a second.

"No!" The half-ghost looked at his hand in disbelief. "I can't be this weak now, can I?"

Danny chuckled, "Well, apparently you are."

The older half-ghost glared at him for a moment longer before exhaling sharply and flying towards Skulker, who was floating a few meters to his left.

"You know, guys," Danny said, "it's very tempting to beat the both of you into the ground right now." He smashed his right fist into his left hand to emphasize his words. "But you two are in such a sorry state that it wouldn't be fair." He paused for a second to contemplate, a mischievous smirk forming on his face. "It would be fun though…." He sighed helplessly. "But, I'm the good guy, so I'll give you both a final warning: leave, now!" Danny pointed to the exit of the industrial zone to his right. He then stretched out his arms a bit and formed violently burning green flames in both of his hands. Both Skulker and Plasmius leaned back a bit in unease.

"You've lost, Plasmius. Just accept it and go away."

* * *

"NO!" Mayor Masters smashed both fists on his desk in utter frustration. 

"Sir!" the Commissioner said in a shocked tone. "Is there something wrong? Are you alright?"

Vlad quickly realized what he had done, as he looked up and saw the Commissioner, his two advisors and Mrs. Marble staring at him in surprise. He slowly moved his hands back as he tried to find a quick excuse. One thing was certain, he couldn't afford to stay put any longer. He had to act.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me. I've been so busy lately governing this city, looking out for the best interests of all our citizens, that I have had very little time to rest. But that is no excuse for my behavior and I deeply apologize. It won't happen again."

"I did notice that you are looking a bit pale, sir. If you're not feeling well we could—"

"No, Maxwell, I won't turn my back on the citizens of our fair city in this hour of need, if that was what you were about to suggest. But if you could all excuse me for a moment, I want to freshen myself up a bit. I'll be back in a minute." Vlad stood up and left his office quickly, heading toward the lavatory, when he heard a voice behind him. It was his secretary.

"Mr. Mayor, should I walk along with you a bit? I'm worried about you sir, you're looking really pale." She sounded genuinely worried.

Vlad suppressed an annoyed sigh before looking at her, but he know she meant well. "No, I'm fine, thank you. I'll manage. Please ask our guests if they want something to drink or eat, I have a feeling this will be a long night for all of us." He saw her face fill with doubt, and for a moment, Vlad was almost certain she was going to protest, but in the end the emotion changed into resignation.

"Yes sir, I'll ask." She turned around and walked back into his office.

"Good, I can't have any witnesses for what I'm going to do next," he muttered under his breath. With these words he turned around and set off down the hall.

_I'm taking a risk. They'll surely come looking for me if I don't come back in a few minutes, but that can't be helped. I have no choice but to let them think that I fainted on the toilet; with the door locked they'll need time in order to break in, hopefully giving me enough time to deal with this. If not... _A slight grin appeared on Vlad's face._ If not, maybe I'll have to involve that Juukka creature or my ghost half into this, blaming them for my sudden disappearance. That would definitely be a more preferable headline for the morning newspapers. _

As soon as he reached the privacy of the men's room, he changed into Plasmius, made himself intangible and flew through the roof. Once he appeared above City Hall, he became solid and willed his body invisible.

"You might think that you've won, Daniel, but this game has only just begun." the half-ghost spoke softly.

He then set course toward the industrial area, flying as fast as he could, knowing that he didn't have much time. _Because the entire place is surrounded, I'll have to teleport myself the remaining distance once I get close to the blockade in order to avoid detection. That will cost me even more energy but at least I'll have the advantage of surprise. _

* * *

Plasmius gestured for Skulker to follow and they both quickly flew away from Danny. "Hey! Get back here!" The teen shouted, seeing his two enemies flying deeper into the industrial area, instead of leaving in the direction like he had told them to do. Danny followed while keeping the flames burning in his hands. 

"Skulker, what is the status on Juukka?" Plasmius spoke softly, giving a quick glance back at the very peeved younger half-ghost.

The hunter looked at the display on his left wrist. "He's trying to lower his energy signature again, to make it more difficult to trace him, but I hit him with a tracking device so he's out of luck. It'll also be at least half an hour before he can activate a new portal to the Ghost Zone."

"Excellent," Plasmius replied. "This gives us all the time we need. You've done well, Skulker."

"Thanks," the hunter said, "but do I understand correctly that you're still planning to go on with this?" His question was filled with doubt and skepticism.

"Yes, we are," Plasmius said confidently as both allies landed on the ground. Skulker was amazed at his sudden change of mood, but seeing his employer this way definitely helped to control his unease about the current situation.

_He is certainly planning something; I can see it on his face._ "What do you want me to do now?" Skulker asked.

"For the moment, nothing. But stay alert, I'll need you soon."

The hunter nodded.

Danny landed in front of the two ghosts, quickly grabbing their attention to him. "Hey, what are you two doing? I said to get lost, and I suggest you start doing that or I'll make you!" Danny started to become frustrated, it was obvious that Plasmius and Skulker were plotting something and he had no idea what. Even with the advantage he had over them, he knew he still had to be very careful.

A smile appeared on Plasmius' face as he started to walk toward the ghost boy.

"That's far enough, Plasmius," Danny said threateningly, increasing the intensity of the flames in his hands.

The older half-ghost raised his hands a bit. "Don't worry, Daniel, I'm not coming any closer. I just wanted to talk," he said in a reassuring tone.

"Talk?" Danny's eyes grew wide with surprise.

"Yes," his opponent continued. "I know you, my dear boy. After Skulker and I have left this area you will go after this mystery ghost to find more about it yourself."

"So what if I do? That's my business. I'm not going to say it again, go away, now!" Danny's eyes started to glow intensely as he aimed both hands toward his archenemy. The flames merged into one violently moving energy sphere. "I think you're trying to trick me, but I'm not falling for that, Plasmius."

The older half-ghost folded his hands. "Of course you're not, Daniel. You are way too intelligent to be fooled so easily. But if you are going after this ghost, I recommend you learn more about him." Vlad chuckled. "And of course, only I can provide you with such information; that is if you're interested…"

Danny slowly absorbed the energy in his hands before lowering them to his sides. Still, he didn't drop his guard entirely. He wasn't letting Plasmius and Skulker out of his sight.

Vlad smirked. "I'll take your silence as a yes; Now, allow me to start from the beginning. This story will only take a minute or two."

"I don't know why you want to willingly share information with me, Vlad," he said warily, "but I'll listen as long as you don't try to trick me or something."

"Oh no, I promise you," Plasmius said while placing his left hand on his chest. "I won't do anything."

The young half-ghost said nothing, but kept glaring at him, his unease and doubt clearly visible in his eyes.

Internally, Vlad relished the apprehension and fear his presence sparked in the teen every time they met, but outwardly he continued calmly and casually. "As you know, the Ghost Zone is a dark and barren place, mainly consisting of scattered floating islands. It's chaotic, dangerous and in most places lawlessness prevails, giving the stronger the right to take everything they want from the weak. While I manage to take advantage of that situation, it is really not a place I would prefer to live. It is rather unpleasant there."

"So I noticed. What does this have to do with the ghost you were fighting earlier?"

"Well, what if I told you that the Ghost Zone wasn't always like that?" Plasmius retorted, raising an eyebrow at the teen.

Danny's eyes widened.

"What if I told you that a time long ago, the Ghost Zone was a very pleasant and comfortable place to live?"

"I'd have a very hard time believing that," the boy answered with a confused look.

"But it's the truth, Daniel. Millennia ago, the Ghost Zone consisted of several continents instead of the thousands of islands we see today. One of the most advanced civilizations ever known to inhabit this realm are today only known as the Ancients. They were peaceful, enlightened people and they wished only the best for the younger and weaker species who just started to develop in the lands around them. Unfortunately, despite their good intentions, things didn't go always as planned. They wanted to protect and help the other civilizations because even in that time evil was present. But the Ghost Zone was so big that even the Ancients couldn't be in every place at every time. So they undertook an amazing project: they created a special being to help them protect the younger races and achieve peace and harmony.

"This creature became known as 'The Beast.' A dared experiment with the goal of creating the ultimate fighter."

Plasmius took a step closer to Danny, but the teen was too wrapped in the story to notice. "At first, everything went according to plan. The Beast protected many villages from evil and violence. He defeated warlords, armies and powerful ghosts wherever they threatened the innocent. He helped construct new villages and harvest crops. He entertained ghosts and brought happiness into their hearts. One moment he might use his powers to destroy an entire army, and the next he would play with children, fetching a ball or stick and allowing them to hug him or ride on his back. Everything went very well and the Ancients were very pleased with these developments." Vlad stopped, slightly tilting his head at the unease flashing in the teen's eyes. "Is there something wrong?" He asked innocently, showing a look of concern, although very obvious he was just pretending.

Despite being interested, Danny began to feel uncomfortable. For someone who had just lost a battle, Plasmius remained very calm, too calm. He didn't like it; he didn't like this at all. Noticing that his enemy had paused and now looked at him with a smirk that made his body tense instantly, Danny knew very well that this was the right moment to beat them, yet he couldn't supress his curiosity either. Feeling confident and reassuring himself that Plasmius and Skulker were way weaker than him at the moment, he decided to take his chances.

"Just get to the point, Plasmius," he snapped, purposely ignoring his question while scowling at the man's mocking expression.

Vlad grinned widely at his young rival's edginess. "Of course. As I said, the Ancients were very pleased with the results. They believed that nothing could go wrong anymore, but they were terribly mistaken. Because there was one evil they didn't anticipate: the evil within."

Vlad paused as if he was trying to remember something ….or feel for something… Before Danny could question the man's sudden and bizarre action he continued just as casually as before. "There was a group of Ancients who didn't agree with the path their race had taken. Starting as a small organization, their ideology gained a lot of supporters in a very short amount of time, giving them influence and power. This organization, whose name has been lost in history, saw the other fledling ghost kingdoms as nothing more then nuisances who could pose a threat to their own security one day. And now they would have to spend their treasures and resources to help them grow and develop? Instead, they openly advocated to use the Beast, in their eyes their greatest military asset, as a tool of war to conquer and destroy the other kingdoms. Tensions quickly began to rise and soon they openly defied their leaders and even formed their own government. Tragically, a civil war eventually erupted and as a consequence everyone in the Ghost Zone would suffer because of this. After several bloody years, when the war was finally nearing its end. The rebel faction realized that they were losing, and with the Beast now being used against _them_, they saw no other option then to infect the creature with a virus, hoping to gain control and to decide the war in their favor. However, this proved to be a _fatal_ mistake.

"The effect of that virus turned out to be very different than they anticipated. The results were disastrous."

"What happened next?" Danny asked, still looking at Vlad with an angry glare.

"You can see the results today whenever you enter the Ghost Zone. The creature turned into a weapon of mass destruction. Uncontrollable by anyone, it turned into a raging, evil being also known as 'The Legendary Destroyer.' I think the name says enough. In a year's time, the entire Ghost Zone was devastated. No continent was spared, millions of ghosts were slaughtered, and many of the Ancients were killed as well." Vlad faked sympathy but then shrugged dismissively.

"The Ancients, even the faction resposible for this disaster, fought with everything they had, sacrificing thousands of their soldiers just to hold the monster's progress so other ghosts could escape into relative safety. Eventually, after a terrible and final battle that lasted for many months, the Ancients managed to capture the creature and sealed him in a prison."

"Wow, I had no idea that the Ghost Realm had suffered so much. That's terrible."

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Plasmius said in an indifferent tone, earning him a irritated gaze from the boy.

"The period that followed afterwards is also known as the Dark Age. Feeling responsible for the destruction and grief that they caused, the surviving Ancients -and those were only a few- left the known lands and headed towards unknown territories on the edge of the Ghost Zone. To this day, no one knows if any Ancients are still alive," the half-ghost informed, making an uncaring hand gesture.

"As I said, the period that followed was an age of despair, suffering and pain for all the inhabitants. The continents were gone, shattered and broken into the many islands we now see today. Countless homes were destroyed, many species decimated, so many lives ruined. This period lead to the rise of a powerful and charismatic leader, promising the ghosts a new era of peace, prosperity and hope. He would later be known as 'Pariah Dark.'"

"Pariah!" Danny exclaimed. "So that's the way he came to power?"

"Yes. Almost all the ghosts in the Ghost Zone supported him at that time; seeing him as their savior, as their beacon of light in those dark times. Little did they know that he would grow into one of the worst tyrants ever known. If it hadn't been for the Ancients, Pariah Dark would never have been able to gain enough followers to establish complete control of the Ghost Zone."

"I still don't understand what this has to do with the ghost you and Skulker were fighting earlier."

"Ah yes, that..." Plasmius paused for a second. An evil smirk appeared on his face. "I'm so sorry, but I'll have to get back to you on this later."

"What do you mea— Aaah!!"

Another Plasmius had teleported behind him and immediately smashed his fists in the boy's upper back, making him scream in pain. Danny fell face down on the ground.

Using his arms he tried to get up again. "You liar, you said you wouldn't—"

The Plasmius in front of him started to laugh evilly, "Oh my dear boy, you really should have known better by now. And technically I didn't do anything. You can thank my very handsome doppelganger for that."

_I can't believe I fell for this_, the ghost boy thought, _I'm such an idiot._

Just as the duplicate grabbed Danny by his neck, the boy's eyes turned blue and fired two ice beams towards the original Plasmius, who evaded the beams with ease. The doppelganger slid his arms underneath Danny's arms and lifted him from the ground in a firm lock.

"Let's see if we can teach you to hold your tongue," Plasmius said darkly. He then went intangible and flew toward the captured teen, hitting him in the stomach right after turning his body solid again. Danny gasped for air, utter shock visible in his eyes about his opponent's sudden and merciless attack. Glaring viciously, Plasmius then slammed his fist into Danny's face twice, one once on each cheek. The ghost boy fought against the pain, not willing to give his opponent the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

The doppelganger released his hold on the ghost boy and let him fall to the ground, noticing a small amount of green ectoplasm flowing from Danny's mouth. Grinning evilly at the sight of the teen trembling on his legs and clutching his stomach with his right hand, he grabbed the boy by his left hand and lifted him into the air.

"Fruitloop," Danny muttered with half-closed eyes, looking defiantly at his opponent.

Without saying anything the Plasmius copy slammed his left fist into Danny's stomach, making the boy spit out some of the green ectoplasm still in his mouth, of which a few drops landed on the man's suit.

Eww," the duplicate said while pausing to rub away the stains with his left hand. Plasmius stepped forward and grabbed Danny by the face, digging his fingers firmly into the skin, forcing the boy to look in his direction. He stared the teen straight into the eyes, "I told you that you'd made a big mistake. Now it's time you pay the price for your incessant meddling," he said menacingly, before withdrawing his hand.

The Plasmius copy let go of Danny's arm. The teen fell to his knees, coughing up blood while desparately trying to catch his breath again. Not allowing him to recuperate, Plasmius grabbed Danny at the front of his neck, squeezing it tightly, lifting him to his feet. The duplicate grabbed the boy's left arm and twisted it around on his back, making him wince in pain. For a few seconds both Plasmiuses listened to Danny's choking sounds and faint cries, fully enjoying this moment. The doppelganger then placed his other hand on the boy's head while Vlad put his hand on Danny's right shoulder.

He and the doppelganger released simultaneous waves of hot energy. Danny's limbs started to move and tremble uncontrollably, while he released a terrifying, painful scream.

Plasmius, who was still holding the ghost boy in a firm lock, leaned forward a bit to whisper in his ear. "Only a few more seconds, Little Badger, then it will be all over."

"V-Vlad stop," Danny begged, "I can't breathe, I can't..." The older half-ghost smirked cruelly as he watched the boy lose consciousness and felt his body go limp. At that same moment, the evil duo halted their attack. The boy's head hung over Plasmius' hand, which still held the boy's neck in a constricting grip.

"I believe that's enough," the duplicate said with satisfaction, releasing the boy's arm, taking a step back.

"I believe it is," the original confirmed as he withdrew his hand from Danny's neck. He carefully picked him up, just as two white rings appeared around Danny's waist, transforming him back into his human form, and in turn sending a soft tingle through Plasmius' body. The man took a few paces to his right and then laid him gently on his back in a small patch of long grass. He was barely done when he heard a warning signal, originating from Skulker's computer.

"Plasmius!" the hunter yelled.

Both Plasmiuses turned around but only the original replied, "What is it, Skulker?"

"Juukka, he's coming back!"

Before either Plasmius could respond, they heard an angry roar from above. Skulker looked at his on-screen display and then pointed to the roof of a mattress factory just across the street. Both Plasmiuses gasped; this was very bad timing.

Juukka released another roar and jumped into the air, casting a shadow across them as he passed in front of the full moon. The creature landed a few meters away from the unconscious Danny and then ran towards Plasmius and his duplicate, who were still standing next to him.

Both Plasmiuses flew away and landed again a short distance away. Juukka had now positioned himself between them and Danny, clearly trying to protect the boy.

"Of course, just what we need," the original Plasmius grumbled. "Skulker, don't just stand there, do something!" the half-ghost said as he turned toward the hunter.

Juukka let out one more roar, and the upper parts of the four spikes on his helmet started to grow brightly with an intense white colour. Sparks and small lightning arcs began to jump from one spike to the other.

"Fascinating," Skulker said while trying to get more readings on his computer. "By focusing his ecto-energy in his head he's able to use those spikes to convert that energy into a completely different form. At this moment, he's generating huge amounts of electricity."

"You call that fascinating?" the duplicate yelled to the hunter. "Do something, deploy the energy net again."

At that moment a lightning bolt shot in their direction, originating from Juukka's helmet.

"Jump, now!" Skulker yelled.

All three managed to dive away in time, but the shockwave from the impact of the lightning threw them against a large billboard with a picture of a grinning Vlad and with the text "Mayor Masters watches over you" underneath. Skulker managed to get up quickly again but the two Plasmiuses couldn't as they were blinded by the flash of light. The bright light dissipated quickly, but it would take longer for the aftereffects to dissipate as well. Both the original and the duplicate were sitting against the billboard, powerless to do anything until their vision would return to them.

"Skulker, your eyes, are they---? The duplicate asked.

"No," the hunter replied, "I'm not affected, thanks to my suit."

"Good, what is that blasted creature doing now?"

"Juukka is now standing next to the whelp. What... He is picking the ghost boy up."

"What, no!" both Plasmiuses said at the same time. The original then took over, his voice now sounding slightly desperate, "Skulker, you can't let Juukka escape with Daniel, I'll have nothing to fall back on if he does!"

"I understand. I might not be able to fight him, but maybe I can disable him for a short while." The hunter took a device out of his belt, then activated his rocket pack. "I advise you two to keep your eyes closed."

Like we have another choice," the original Plasmius retorted.

Juukka, who now was carrying Danny in his arms, turned around and saw the hunter approaching. Skulker threw the device to the ground directly before the ghost's feet. It immediately exploded and released a bright flash of light.

"A light grenade," the hunter said with a smile, "and it appears it is working perfectly."

Juukka screamed in pain as the light blinded him; he dropped Danny and used his hands to cover his eyes. Stumbling backwards, the creature let out several yelps while shaking all over his body. He then turned around, dropped down on all fours and started running away. He smacked headfirst into a parked car, in his panic climbed over it, then ran towards the door of a large building a little bit farther down the street. Juukka smashed headfirst through the door and ran straight into the building. Skulker could hear glass shattering and the cries of the people who were still inside.

While this was happening, the vision of the Plasmius duo had returned, and they were now walking toward the hunter. "You'll be rewarded well for this," the original said while laying a hand on Skulker's shoulder. He then turned around and walked over to the still unconscious Danny, then lowered himself to his right knee.

"I don't entirely understand this, Plasmius, what are you planning?"

"You'll see Skulker, you'll see," he replied while gently stroking Danny's raven-black hair for a moment. After doing so, he made himself intangible and plunged his hands into Danny's chest. Within a second Plasmius entirely disappeared into his body.

"He's overshadowing the whelp!" the hunter said in surprise. He placed a hand under his chin. "But why? What would he gain by doing so, unless...?"

Danny's body started to move in wild spasms, while a violet glow surrounded him. Even while unconscious he let out several painful cries from the heavy battle that seemed to be going on inside.

"He is resisting, but it won't matter. That's the reason why we had to attack Daniel like that, Skulker." The duplicate Plasmius turned around. "Because he is a half-ghost he has, just like me, a natural defense against overshadowing, but this resistance is lowered considerably when he is unconscious. I know this doesn't look pleasant, but it won't take long," he said with a devilish grin.

Suddenly Danny's frantic movements stopped, and the glow disappeared at the same time. Skulker and the duplicate quickly ran towards him. Nothing seemed to have changed, Danny's body was still lying on his back in the high grass.

"Plasmius?" Skulker asked cautiously.

Suddenly Danny opened his eyes, but they were not his usual green. Instead, two blood-red eyes were staring intently at Skulker and an evil smirk appeared on the boy's features.

"Yes, Skulker, it's me."

After transforming back into ghost form, the boy stood up without any effort, then looked at his hands and body with a satisfied smile. "Ah, the blessings of youth." He let out an evil chuckle. "This is even better than I hoped for, although Daniel's body has been weakened from our attacks he still has more then enough energy left." He tested his arms and legs in a series of quick movements. "I'll only need a minute or two to get a good feeling for his body and then..." Another chuckle. Plasmius was feeling very pleased with himself at the moment. "...and then there will be nothing left to stand in our way."

"Skulker moved his hand through the flames on his head. "I still don't entirely understand what you're planning. Are you going to fight Juukka in that whelp's body? What about your duplicate? And your voice still sounds like your own."

Plasmius cleared Danny's throat and then let out a dark, short laugh; this time his voice sounded exactly like the boy. "Skulker." He stretched out his hands again and looked at them, smiling confidently before continuing, "You'll see, all in good time, all in good time."

The ghost boy then took a step forward and slowly rose into the air. "Now, let the hunt continue!"

End of chapter 3

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I do want to mention that although the situation doesn't look like it yet, Danny will get his time to shine soon. Don't wory, he'll have a big role to play in the story,

Thanks again for reading, I hope you've enjoyed it!

Until next time!


	5. A complicated game

Thank you all so much for your kind reviews. I've been a bit behind with reviewing so many of the awesome stories here, but the last few days I had a special exam as well as a very persistent virus on my computer, which not only has 'eaten' some of my existing files but also a lot of my time. The problem is under control now, but I don't know yet the extent of the damage the virus has caused.

I promise I start catching up with reviewing soon, I love reading great fanfics and I already have several favorites on this site.

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Author's note: Chapter 5 really was one of the most difficult and hardest chapters for me to write, not even the ending of this story gave me this much trouble. I could never have done this without my awesome friends and beta-readers: Bluemoonalto and Pearl84! Thank you so much! For everyone reading this, they are both fantastic writers and have written several awesome and very exciting Danny Phantom fanfics. I can really recommend them! Check them out if you have the time! 

As I said, this chapter was very complicated to write, and might also be complicated to read. Several characters appear at first glance to behave out of character, but there is a good reason for this. If there are any parts in this chapter which are confusing, please let me know and I'll do my best to explain.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. This awesome series and all of its characters are property of Butch Hartman.

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Chapter 5: A complicated game

"I've picked up his exact location. He's hiding in the warehouse just below us."

"Excellent. Well done, Skulker. This time he won't escape."

Several minutes had passed since Plasmius had overshadowed Danny. Although he had felt a bit uncomfortable in the teen's body at first, he had now managed to completely adapt. The biggest difficulty was getting used to the boy's size; everything seemed a bit bigger and the size difference between him and Skulker was now quite noticeable. He had no trouble controlling the boy's body at all; in fact, it felt as if every movement was easier than with his own body. He hated to admit an uncomfortable truth in Danny's words: he was getting old. Daniel was in the prime of his life, and would only become stronger with each passing year. _It won't be long before he surpasses me. And what happens then? _

"Plasmius?" Skulker spoke carefully.

_This game of chess has gone on long enough. With the emergence of Juukka, it seems I'll finally be able to finish this game once and for all. Not only will I be able to establish dominance over Daniel, but over the entire Ghost Zone as well. After all, the longer Juukka exists, the stronger he'll become. There is no limit to his power, which means there will be no limit to mine, either. _

"Plasmius!?" the hunter tried again.

_It's a shame you can't see how I am creating my own destiny, my boy. But that aside, I can't wait to see your expression when you find out the true extent of the power I'm about to acquire. _

_**I think I have a pretty good idea, Vlad.**_

_What, who...? No, it can't be..._

_**Yep, the one and only, Danny Phantom.**_

_Impossible! You're supposed to be unconscious. I shouldn't be able to detect your presence! _

Being that they were currently linked, Danny felt a wave of surprise and even… uncertainty wash through his enemy.

_**I guess not, but then again, you've never overshadowed a half-ghost before, have you? So how can you know what should and shouldn't happen?** _

_And once again, you're getting in my way, Daniel. Although, I am intrigued to know how you did this._

_**Well, feel free to theorize about this all you want, but do it in your own body. In other words, get out of mine! **_

Knowing Danny could feel his emotions, Vlad inwardly smirked as he felt the boy's anger grow.

_Hmm… no, I don't think I will._

Danny became furious upon feeling the man's smugness swell, so much that it was almost suffocating.

_**Get out, Plasmus! Or I'll push you out myself!**_

_Hah! I'd like to see you try. __You forget I can sense you, Daniel, and you are very weak. Not only that, but there's no ghost__ in existence who has more experience with overshadowing than me. Heh, I built my whole empire upon it. __Do you really believe you can beat me at my own game?_

_**We'll see. I may not be able to push you out immediately, but I can definitely make things very difficult for you while you're in here.** _

_Enough of this nonsense. You can't do anything now I'm in control, my boy. __So I suggest you keep quiet and wait. I want you to see how I'll become the most powerful being that has ever lived._

Danny forced himself to calm a bit, knowing he needed to keep himself focused. He needed to conserve his energy.

_**So, that's it? It is just all about power, nothing else? I'm disappointed, Plasmius. After all this time that I've known you I expected something more. What happened to the "I'm not a villain" speech?**_

Much to Danny's confusion, he suddenly felt a wave of sadness from the man, but it quickly vanished again.

_Times have changed, Daniel. In the past, I've always relied on my intelligence and charisma to obtain influence and control, whether in the Ghost Zone or on Earth. But after the recent incidents with ghosts like Vortex and Undergrowth I realize now that I need something beyond that, something to support and to protect my still growing empire. You could call it insurance for the future, if you will._

_**In other words, you're just afraid, right? Vortex, Undergrowth, Nocturne... you weren't strong enough to fight them and... heh, it all makes sense. Now I understand why there has been so much ghost activity around your mansion the last few weeks and of course all those experiments lately. You're trying to find something, anything... that will give you an edge over your enemies, anything that you can cling to. No matter if it is a ghost or a new invention.**_

Vlad suddenly felt uncomfortable with their link, but he quickly pushed it aside before Danny could sense it.

_Now... don't put words in my mouth. Afraid? Me? Ha! Don't make me laugh. Just when I thought you were more intelligent than I gave you credit for. You're just a fourteen-year old boy. What arrogance to think you can even begin to comprehend my motivations, my intellect. How delightfully amusing._

_**Of course I can't comprehend you! Who could comprehend a crazed up fruit loop?**_

_What? Why you li—_

"Plasmius! What is wrong with you? Say something!" Skulker grabbed Danny's left shoulder and started to shake him vigorously. The young half-ghost's body had been floating motionless in the air for several minutes now. The hunter had called his employer's name several times already and had now grown impatient. The Plasmius duplicate's reassurances did little to ease Skulker's growing worries. They had less than eighteen minutes left to capture Juukka before he would be able to create a new ghost portal. If he managed to escape through one the creature could literally go anywhere. He could hide himself deep within the Ghost Zone or create another passage to the human world. Tracking him would be nearly impossible.

"Skulker," the duplicate called, placing a hand on the hunter's arm, "Calm yourself. Although I don't know how, Daniel has awakened and he and I are talking to each other. I'm fully aware about the time, don't worry, I'm almost finished."

"I hope so," Skulker replied. He then tilted his head a bit to the left while withdrawing his arm from the boy's shoulder. "You know, with the whelp awake now, you do realize there is a considerable risk of him trying to drive you out."

"I know, but do not concern yourself with that. I can control the boy."

_Well, Daniel. I guess that was my cue. I have business to attend to. _

_**I won't let you get away with this, I won't let you do this!**_

_There is nothing you can do. You've lost, Daniel. Accept it._

"Plasmius?" Skulker said, "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can." Plasmius turned his head towards the hunter with a small grin. "My apologies for the delay but I'm back now. Everything is under control."

Skulker looked at the overshadowed teen with uncertainty while he put both hands on his hip. "I really hope you know what you're doing, because I have a bad feeling about this."

Starting to look slightly irritated, the duplicate replied, "Have a bit more faith, Skulker. I'm not underestimating the boy, far from it. I already told you that this is not your concern. So I would prefer it if you'd stay out of this."

The hunter let out a sigh, rubbing his head with his left hand. "As long as you're sure that you're able to keep him in check, I won't say anything." Feeling a bit nervous, he placed the same hand under his chin before he continued. "Because if you can't keep him under control, it could jeopardize our hunt."

Both the duplicate and Plasmius laughed. "There is no need to worry, my loyal hunter," the doppelganger said. "I'm the master of overshadowing; Daniel may be slowly surpassing me, but in that area he'll never be able to beat me. Just watch how I control Daniel's body effortlessly." The duplicate pointed at Danny to prove his point. The boy started to move his hands, making quick boxing movements while throwing a few kicks in between.

You see, Skulker," Plasmius said while increasing his speed, "there is nothing wrong, I'm in complete control. The bo— Ahh!!"

Before he could finish his sentence, his right hand suddenly moved forward and hit the duplicate directly on the nose.

"Ow!"

"I believe the whelp has just proved you wrong." the hunter said, having difficulty suppressing a smile at the sight. Plasmius and the duplicate, who now covered the sore spot with his hands, glared at him in irritation, but said nothing.

_So Daniel, it seems you insist on making things hard for yourself. _

_**This is my body, Plasmius. You may have the upper hand, but I'll fight you every chance I get.** _

_When will you realize tha— What? No!_

Danny turned around and looked at Skulker with a big grin. He then flew toward him, stuck his hand right at the astounded hunter's face, and fired. Skulker screamed as the force of the blast propelled him several meters backwards.

"Plasmius!" The hunter covered his face with both hands. _Hopefully no visual sensors were damaged._ "What are you...?" _Wait... it's that whelp._

As he withdrew his hands he noticed that his vision had become blurry, but it was still clear enough to see Danny hitting the duplicate twice in the face. However, at the moment the boy tried to hit his opponent in the stomach, a pink glow appeared around him, and he winced and screamed in agony.

_Your resistance is futile. What can you possibly hope to accomplish with these pathetic efforts of yours?_

_**I told you... I'll make things... difficult for you.** _

_Alright then, I guess I'll just have to do this the hard way._

While Skulker's eyes slowly came into focused, he looked in awe at the unfolding spectacle before him. Danny's body became entirely engulfed in violet flames, and sparks of lightning arced in several directions. The duplicate watched with a tensed expression; although not part of the actual overshadowing, he was still using and directing his powers to keep Danny under control. The hunter was not surprised to see how much trouble and effort Plasmius and his replica were having in controlling the ghost boy. If there was one thing he had learned from all the past encounters with his prey, it was that the whelp had amazing willpower.

_No, you can't be this strong. This isn't possible!_

_**I don't care if it is possible or not. I just want you out!**_

Skulker's mouth fell open as he saw the flames of the aura turn green. _That's the kid's aura, he is pushing Plasmius back. I don't believe it! I've never seen something like this before._ He glanced over at the duplicate, who had clenched his fists and was trembling all over, drops of sweat dripping from his chin. When the hunter looked at Danny again he noticed that his eyes had turned green as well. Skulker slowly drifted backwards; if the boy were to regain control he didn't want to be too close.

_I've had enough of you, Daniel. No more Mr. Nice Plasmius! _The half-ghost sent out an intense surge of energy through all parts of the boy's body, trying to push away any trace of Danny's influence.

_**Arrgh! Too strong!** _

_Ha ha ha! You fool, I told you I was in control, and there is nothing you can do about it. Do you hear me, you little brat? Nothing!_

Danny placed both hands on top of his head, then released an even more painful scream. The lightning bolts became larger and more frequent, two hitting Skulker in the chest, hurling him backwards again. The duplicate was hit with several lightning strikes, but didn't move a muscle, his thoughts and concentration completely focused on the battle taking place before him.

"Vlad! Stop! Don't... don't do this," the boy said in a desperate tone, for a moment he had control over his own voice again, but it was quickly weakening. Plasmius was now pushing him to the farthest corners of his own mind, making him a prisoner within his very own body.

Danny's hands and legs hung limp and his head drooped forward as well. The green aura had changed back to violet. The boy's eyes were closed, making it impossible to see if they had changed back as well.

After several seconds of silence, Skulker carefully moved forward. He looked at the duplicate and saw that he was panting heavily. But his expression was smug. "Plasmius?" the hunter asked cautiously.

Plasmius took a few deep breaths before replying. "It's alright, I'm in full control now." He then moved Danny's body upside down, floating calmly in the air before continuing, "I'll only make this mistake once, the boy won't interfere again." He then carefully flew down until his feet touched the ground; his doppelganger and Skulker did the same.

The duplicate turned towards the hunter. "What's our current status?"

Skulker looked at his onboard computer and pushed several buttons on the device, located on his wrist. "We have fourteen minutes left, after that he will have enough energy to create another ghost portal. He's still hiding in the southeast corner of that warehouse."

"Now, I'll tell you what exactly I'm planning," Plasmius said with a grin. He laid a hand on Skulker's right shoulder and pulled him a bit closer. "I want to set up a little play for our furry friend. This is what I have in mind..."

* * *

Slowly the overshadowed Danny floated down through the roof into the central storage area of the warehouse. The building was very dark, but the faint beams from the full moon helped him get a general impression of the layout of the room. Skulker had told him exactly where Juukka was hiding, so he turned around to view that portion of the building. Eerily lit by the moonlight, a large packing machine with several racks stood against the wall. If Skulker's information was correct, the creature had to be somewhere behind that machine. 

_Let's see if I can lure him out. _

Plasmius cleared his throat, then tried to emulate Danny's voice as well as he could. "I don't know who you are, but you don't have to be afraid of me. I don't mean any harm."

He listened carefully for a reaction but heard nothing. He took a deep breath and continued, "Listen, I saw how you were on the run from Plasmius and Skulker. I just managed to escape from them. They're my enemies as well."

This time he did hear nervous footsteps coming from behind the machine.

_Excellent, he only needs a little more encouragement._

"I came here because I want to help you. Maybe we can talk about this."

An evil grin appeared on the boy's face when he saw Juukka, hesitantly, inch out of his hiding spot. Walking on all fours, he slowly moved forward into the light, his tail kept between his legs. Plasmius replaced his evil grin with a kind and comforting smile as he observed the uncertainty and fear within the creature's eyes. Juukka stood up when he was about a meter away from the ghost boy. He stared into the ghost's friendly eyes, oblivious to the evil that lurked behind the innocent, boyish expression. His tail began to swing nervously and he tilted his head slightly to the left, waiting for the teen to say something.

Plasmius stretched out Danny's right hand. "It's nice to meet you. I hope that we can become good friends." Juukka's eyes widened and filled with relief. He cautiously stretched his right hand toward Danny and made a step forward.

This was all the half-ghost needed. He forcefully grabbed Juukka's hand, prompting the creature to make a yelp of surprise.

"I've got you," Plasmius said with a diabolical grin. He quickly grabbed Juukka's wrist with his left hand, then spun and threw the creature over his left shoulder to the ground, making him land on his back with a loud thud. Juukka sat up, rubbing his back and groaning. He quickly stood up and stared at the boy, confused. With an apologetic expression the being stretched out his right hand again.

_I can't believe how naive he is. Well, that only makes it easier for me._ Plasmius put his hands together and formed an ecto-blast, its glow eerily lighting the room. Juukka cried in shock as the boy released the energy mass, but he was too late to avoid it. The blast hit him in the stomach and threw him several meters before smashing his back against the cold wall. The violent, swirling mass of energy kept pressing him for a few seconds before it finally dissipated. Juukka stood up and looked at the ghost boy, this time with a slight hint of anger. Hesitantly, the creature started to form an energy ball in his hands. Plasmius dashed forward and slammed into him, grabbing him around the waist, causing him to let go of the energy he had just made. He took Juukka off the ground, making them both intangible so they both would pass through the wall. They hit the ground on the other side and rolled over one another on the cold stones, Plasmius still holding the creature. The half-ghost then let go of his opponent, floated a few meters backwards before landing on his feet. He crossed his arms and looked smugly at the animal ghost, as he struggled to get up on his feet again.

Plasmius used this moment to quickly glance around. He saw that they had now reached the harbor, standing close to the waterfront with the lake stretching out before them. In the distance he could make out the flashing lights of several helicopters as well as several approaching police boats. Still, it would be at least another half an hour before anyone would attempt to enter the area. After all, he had given the order to wait for government support. He chuckled. Yes, being a mayor, even Mayor of a backwater town, definitely had its advantages. _Although a city like New York or Washington would have better suited my superior intellect,_ Plasmius thought with amusement.

Realizing that his mind had started to wander, he focused on his goal and turned his head toward Juukka again. The creature stood on his back legs, staring at Danny with a mixture of sorrow and disappointment clearly visible in his big, trembling eyes. Plasmius knew that Juukka must be feeling terrible at this point, having been betrayed and attacked from all sides.

_Time to step this up a little, _Plasmius thought.

"You didn't really think I wanted to be your friend?" he said with a cold grin. "You're just another evil ghost who's come to harm the citizens of this city." He pointed his thumb at the big D on his chest. "Guess again; not on my watch."

Juukka, who had begun to panic, stretched out his arms and made short, waving movements with his hands.

_I know he can't talk, I believe he's trying to explain that what I said is not true._

Juukka now placed both hands on his emblem, shaped in the form of a big J, located in the middle section of the armor on his chest, while shaking his head wildly.

"So, you're saying that I'm wrong? That you aren't here to harm the people of Amity Park?"

The creature nodded.

"Too bad I don't believe ghosts," Plasmius chuckled. "You're just the same as all the others. I'm going to kick you out of this town myself, the hard way." He smashed his right fist into his left hand while grinning evilly.

His eyes filled with sorrow, Juukka stepped back and yelped faintly as he saw the ghost boy walking slowly toward him, his arms at his sides, an energy blast in each hand. With his attention focused on Danny, Juukka didn't notice Skulker approaching him from behind. The hunter lifted his right arm, waited a few seconds and then fired a projectile at his prey. Juukka turned around in alarm and saw a glowing green net coming straight at him. Not able to react in time, he was caught inside the net, lifted from the ground and thrown against the warehouse wall with a loud thud.

"Caught once again! This time you won't escape," the hunter said with an evil smile. He quickly walked over to his prey, who didn't even make an effort to struggle this time. Juukka grabbed the edges of the net and looked at his captor in fear and despair. The ghost boy landed beside the metal ghost.

_**This is so low, Plasmius.** _

_Ah, you're back, Daniel. It's a good thing I didn't push you too far away, hmm? Let this be a warning: don't even think about attempting such a stunt again. As for Juukka, I don't care if he feels hurt, but my plan is working wonderfully and that's all that matters to me. _

_**That ghost may be at an disadvantage right now, but how do you plan to beat him? You can't use my ice powers or my Ghostly Wail because you don't know how they work. I'm sure you've figured that out by now.**_

_Yes, I already realized that before I overshadowed you, my boy. But for what I'm planning I don't need those fancy powers of yours. _

_**Mind telling me what that 'plan' of yours is?** _

_You'll see, just wait._

_Now_, Plasmius thought to himself, _time to start the final act of our play._ He leaped toward Skulker and fired a large energy blast at his stomach, throwing the hunter into a stack of crates, which fell over and covered him entirely. Skulker went intangible and stepped out of the pile.

The hunter grumbled, but said nothing. He turned around and took a few steps to get closer to Juukka, who seemed to have lost the will to fight back. His shoulders were hanging low, and a defeated, sad look in his eyes said it all. Plasmius made a few paces as well until he was standing next to the hunter.

"You know, Whelp," Skulker began, "I didn't come here to fight you this time. I just came for this ghost here. He'll make a valuable trophy for my collection. If you just allow me to—"

"Heh," the boy replied smugly, "I'm not letting you get away. That wouldn't be fair to this ghost, now would it?" He cracked his knuckles. "Tell you what, I'm going to beat you straight into the ground, and if you manage to survive I'll let you take that stupid, worthless ghost with you." Juukka cringed at the boy's words. "If not, I'll have two ghosts to beat up, which just means more fun for me."

"Well then," Skulker replied, "maybe you'd like to start with this one, first." He pushed a green button on his onboard computer. Suddenly the net's glow intensified, with many small flashes of lighting jumping from place to place. Juukka let out a heartbreaking cry of pain. Plasmius resisted the urge to cover the boy's ears when he heard the creature's screams of agony.

_**I hope you're real proud of yourself, Plasmius.** _

_Actually, I am, _the half-ghost chuckled a bit. He could feel anger and pity from his host, clearly the pity was meant for ghost.

Skulker walked forward and pulled on the cord holding the net closed, and dragged the screaming and struggling Juukka out into the open.

"You know," the ghost boy said to Skulker in an annoyed tone, "I've changed my mind. Do with him whatever you want. Afterwards, we'll fight," he added, grinning evilly.

"You're too kind," the hunter replied with a smirk. By pushing the green button on his wrist he deactivated the net. Juukka lay on his back with his arms and legs stretched out, panting heavily.

Skulker activated his energy sword, and placed his right knee on the creature's stomach. Juukka let out a yelp in surprise, which quickly changed into fear as the hunter brought the blade closer to his neck. The metallic ghost laughed evilly as he grabbed Juukka's helmet and pushed it backwards, laying bare the soft and vulnerable part of his throat. Juukka yelped in fear, as if he was begging.

"This won't hurt... much. Say goodbye."

"Skulker, what are you doing? Stop this foolishness at once!"

Simultaneously, the hunter and Juukka turned their heads towards the Plasmius duplicate floating above the ground, a few meters away.

Skulker glared angrily. "I'm not working for you anymore," he replied defiantly. "I've listened to you long enough."

"What!?" the duplicate hissed in anger, visibly shocked by the hunter's sudden betrayal. "How dare you?"

Skulker, unfazed by the doppelganger's dark expression, continued, "This Juukka creature is very valuable. Too valuable to just hand him over to you. I want him, and if this means the end of our alliance, so be it."

"Just think about what you're saying. There must be something I can offer you to compensate for the loss of your prey."

"Not in this case," the hunter said solemnly. "Some principles overrule any form of compensation, but you're not a hunter, so you wouldn't understand."

"Don't kill him! Think of all the potential you'll waste if you do!" The doppelganger paused for a second and then sighed, his angry expression changing into regret. "But I'm not sure if I even want that anymore."

What!?" the hunter yelled in surprise. Juukka didn't say anything but his wide open eyes clearly showed he was surprised as well.

"You know, maybe... maybe I was wrong to hunt him like this. I shouldn't have tried to use force just to get what I want," the duplicate said, gazing at the ground sadly.

Skulker frowned, "This isn't like you at all."

"Isn't it possible for a man to change his mind?" the half-ghost replied. "I realized that I've made a terrible mistake." He raised his head and looked at the hunter with a pleading expression. "I beg of you, Skulker. Don't kill him."

**_Wow, you're really good at this. You should have become an actor._** Danny thought sarcastically.

_Why, thank you. I'm quite good, if I do say so myself. As long as Juukka believes all this sentimental nonsense, everything will be alright._

_**This is not going to work, Plasmius. I won't let it.**_

_You're not in a position to do anything, now just keep quiet._

Skulker thought for a few seconds and then withdrew his sword. He lifted his knee from Juukka's stomach and stood up again. Still frowning he said, "As you wish, I won't kill the creature."

Skulker re-activated the energy net, making Juukka cry in agony again as the flashes of lightning spread through his body. He then raised his voice over Juukka's terrible screams. "Instead of killing him, I'll drain his energy myself. I'll simply use my energy signature for the transfer instead of yours. I could use a powerful partner to cover my back while hunting."

"No!" the doppelganger yelled. "You traitor!"

Suddenly a bright flash of energy exploded a few meters above their heads. Skulker and the duplicate turned around, realizing that it was Danny, or better said, Plasmius who had fired the blast. In shock they saw that he had grabbed the cord of the net.

"You know, I don't really know what is going on here but I don't care." He lifted the crying Juukka into the air and started spinning around, quickly accelerating.

"What do you think you're doing?" the duplicate yelled.

"Settling your dispute," the boy replied. "I'll make sure none of you get this ghost!" He threw the net toward the lake. Juukka tried to break out from his prison with all his might but he was weakening fast. The huge amount of energy surging through the net broke down his powers at an alarming rate. After a few seconds he hit the water and immediately started to sink.

"No! What have you done?" The duplicate stared at Juukka, who quickly disappeared in the water. "With the energy drain activated he can't use his powers to get out of the lake! Not only that, but the combination of the electrical shocks and the water could possibly kill him!"

Plasmius used Danny's face to give his doppelganger an indifferent look. "Save it for someone who cares."

_**I'll get you back for this someday, Plasmius. How could you use my body for something so twisted and evil?** _

Plasmius felt an immense emotion of pain and sorrow from the boy as he said this, causing the evil half-ghost to roll his eyes, before replying._ Oh please, don't act so dramatically, Daniel. Juukka will be just fine, observe._

"I can't let this happen," the duplicate spoke with determination. He rose into the air and followed the creature's trajectory, until he floated above the general area where Juukka had sunk into the lake. He looked below in all directions and spotted a faint glow that was slowly fading away. Not wasting a second, he dived into the water and swam directly toward his target. The animal ghost was still struggling but his movements were becoming weaker. By the time the duplicate reached him, Juukka had stopped moving and his eyes closed. It was clear he had given up and was waiting for his end.

_I only hope I'm not too late. _

He swam to the ghost's side and grabbed the net by the cord. He then started to swim towards the surface, using his energy to enhance his speed. He couldn't afford to waste any time.

Feeling how he was pulled up, Juukka opened his eyes in surprise as he saw his unexpected rescuer.

_I should de-activate the drain now, if Juukka were to die now Plasmius would never forgive me._ With these thoughts Skulker de-activated the energy net again, he then looked at his employer beside him, who gave him an approving nod.

"Well done, Skulker," Plasmius grinned. "Very convincing. I almost believed it myself," the half-ghost chuckled in amusement.

The duplicate flew out of the water and landed at a little distance from Skulker and the ghost boy, carefully lowering the net to the ground. He got down on one knee beside the creature, who looked at him with gratitude but also with distrust. Grabbing the net, the doppelganger tore it open, then stood up and took a step backwards to give Juukka room to get out.

When the creature had freed himself, he turned toward the duplicate and tilted his head slightly. While he was clearly grateful it was obvious that he hadn't forgotten about what Plasmius and Skulker had done to him in the past few hours.

_**Oh, come on. You really think that just because you saved him, he will forgive you? How naive do you expect this ghost to be?** _

_Actually, now you mention it, very naive. You don't know him as well as I do. He only needs a little more encouragement. _

"Juukka," the duplicate began, looking sad and trying to sound as sincere as possible, "I... apologize."

Juukka lifted his head up a bit in surprise, then scratched his right ear for a moment. It was apparent he couldn't believe what his opponent had just said.

"I realize now that I made a terrible mistake. I should never have hunted or hurt you like that. You are a very special ghost and you deserve to be free, to have the right to make your own decisions. I truly regret my actions, I'm really sorry for what I've done to you," he said while lowering his head in shame. "I hope you will accept my apologies."

"N-Nyaaah?_" _Juukka stammered while he placed both hands on his helmet, shaking his head slightly. He just couldn't believe the half-ghost's sudden change in attitude.

_**Oh please, I think I'm gonna hurl. And just when I believed you couldn't get any lower... you pull a despicable trick like this.**_

_Now, it is time for the finale. _With these words, Plasmius commanded Danny's body to rise in the air. "Wrong move!" he yelled, while forming an energy blast with both his hands.

Skulker rose into the air as well. "I don't understand why you changed your intentions, but that doesn't matter. I want that creature, even if it means I have to turn you into my next prey." The hunter deployed a laser on his right arm and started flying toward the duplicate.

Plasmius followed directly behind him. "You're going down!" he yelled in anger, then fired the blast straight at his own doppelganger.

"It was nice working with you," Skulker said solemnly before firing his weapon.

The duplicate stumbled backwards as he saw the blasts coming toward him. "No, no!" he screamed in panic while crossing his arms in front of his face.

Suddenly, he heard someone land before him, and he lowered his arms in time to see Juukka spreading out his own arms and erecting a massive, green, transparent barrier in front of them. The incoming attacks were easily deflected into the air, where they exploded in a bright flash of light.

Seeing Juukka dissolving the barrier and lowering his arms, the duplicate smiled, satisfied. It had worked exactly as predicted. _He probably won't join my side just yet, but this is a solid base to build trust on for now._

Juukka looked up at the still floating Danny and Skulker with anger. They were looking back with slight discomfort and unease. The creature suddenly leaped into the air and gave the boy a massive uppercut, sending his body flying high into the air. Skulker watched in shock as the animal ghost landed on the ground and immediately lunged at him. The creature grabbed the astounded hunter by the face, pulling him down and smacking him headfirst into the ground. He then placed his left foot onto Skulker's chest, burying his claws deep within his armor.

Plasmius managed to recover from Juukka's sudden attack and found himself high above the lake. He rubbed his chin in pain before descending to the waterfront again.

**_Great plan, you just made him angry._** Danny thought with a mixture of sarcasm and amusement.

Plasmius grumbled, sounding and feeling slightly annoyed.

He landed a few meters away from Skulker and the creature. Juukka turned around and let out an angry howl when he spotted Danny. He picked up the hunter by his neck, causing him to cry out in shock, and threw him directly towards the boy. Plasmius did not anticipate this and was hit full force; he and Skulker both fell into the cold, restless water of the lake.

The duplicate's mouth hung open in surprise and amazement. Quickly coming to his senses, he ran toward the still raging ghost who let out another roar. Juukka ran to the water's edge and prepared to jump into the lake.

"Juukka, stop this immediately!" the Plasmius duplicate yelled at him.

The creature turned his head to the doppelganger with a slight frown. Seeing Juukka's irritated expression directed at him made the half-ghost feel nervous and he took a step back.

"There's no need to continue," he pleaded. "You've taught them a really good lesson. Let's end this violence; I don't want to see anyone get hurt anymore, not now, not ever again. I've done that to too many people already, especially you." He really did his best to sound and look as regretful as possible. His plea earned him a sympathetic look from Juukka, whose frown quickly dissolved.

_**You know, you could win an Oscar if you actually believed all that stuff.**_

_Oh, I don't need to believe it to make it sound true. Frankly, it disgusts me to say all these things… but it's for a good cause, so a few sacrifices are of no remorse._

Danny didn't reply. There really was no point in arguing with that fruit loop anymore. He hoped that Plasmius would remain distracted a little bit longer, so he could gather enough energy without him noticing it.

Plasmius, still occupying Danny's body, treaded water for a few moments until Juukka had calmed down enough. Skulker had already gone intangible and hid under the ground just below the animal ghost and the duplicate.

Juukka walked slowly toward the doppelganger, who placed his hands together and tried to give the animal ghost the friendliest smile he could. It was quite an effort for him. He wasn't used to smiling like this, and it made his jaws hurt. The being was standing right before him, staring as if he was trying to read the emotion within his eyes. Juukka was most likely deciding whether he should give him another chance or not. The duplicate stared back at the creature with a serious expression. Internally he squirmed as he awaited for Juukka's 'judgement'. After the passing of several uncomfortable seconds Juukka carefully extended his right hand towards Plasmius and closed his eyes, clearly fearing the worse after "Danny's" betrayal. The duplicate sighed in relief and accepted Juukka's hand, shaking it with enthusiasm. At this the creature's eyes opened and he tilted his head a bit to the right while making a short, happy sound.

Plasmius rose out of the water and landed a little distance behind Juukka, while Skulker appeared from the ground next to him. The animal ghost turned his head and glared at the two, letting out a deep growl.

"Juukka, there's no need to worry," the duplicate said calmly while still holding his hand. "You really showed them who is the strongest, I'm sure they wouldn't be foolish enough to challenge you again." Juukka turned around and stared at him for a few more seconds. The creature made another sound, which resembled a kind of friendly laugh, before he gave the doppelganger a tight hug.

Plasmius was grinning happily at the sight; he couldn't control himself. Joy and satisfaction overflowed in his mind and knowing Danny could feel it made him even more thrilled. Finally, he had succeeded, his mission was complete. It would take some time, but he felt sure that in the end Juukka would join his side. Not by force, but of his own free will.

_**You're feeling very pleased with yourself now, aren't you?**_

_Yes, as a matter of fact I am. Why?_ The half-ghost asked suspiciously. He suddenly realized the boy was feeling smug himself.

_**Awesome! That will make me feel even better when I do this!** _

Danny let out a terrifying scream, making Juukka and Skulker stare in surprise, while a frustrated expression appeared on the duplicate's features. A violet glow appeared again around the body of the young half-ghost.

_No! Do not dare! Stop this futile struggling at once. _

_**You'll probably manage to push me back again, but I've been saving up my energy and I'm not going to let you get away with this!** _

_Why you— When I get back in control I'm going to make you suffer for this! _

_**You don't scare me, Plasmius! So come on, cheese head, show me the best you've got!**_

_You're finished. You hear me, little brat? Finished!!_

Plasmius stumbled a few paces backwards, his hands clinging to Danny's head as he let out a tortured cry. The intensifying glow started to change back and forth between violet and green.

Skulker took a step forward and firmly grabbed the boy's shoulder, shaking it in order to get his employer's attention. "Plasmius!" he yelled. "Are you alright? Can you hear me? Plasmius!"

Despite being locked in an intense battle with Danny, Plasmius could spare a small amount of energy to speak. He slowly managed to force the boy's head in the hunter's direction. "Don't call me Plasmius, you fool!" he hissed. On that moment his eyes turned green, he grumbled in utter frustration before managing to change them back again. "Call me by the boy's name. If Juukka hears you_—_"

"_Grrrrr... "_

"Oh no," Plasmius expression changed into utter shock.

End of chapter 5

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I hope you all enjoyed it and thanks for reading! 


	6. Confrontation

I know I just posted chapter 5 yesterday, but I'm heading into a very busy week regarding work and I 'll most likely won't be able to be online much for a while.

I've managed to review several stories today, and when my one-week break starts, I'm definitely planning to catch up with everyone's stories as well as leaving my thoughts/impressions on them.

My deepest thanks to everyone who has reviewed chapter 5. I'm very grateful for your replies. Thanks again!

I wanted to thank my beta-readers Bluemoonalto and Pearl84! Thank you so much, I would never have been able to do this without you both!

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. The awesome show and all of its characters are property of Butch Hartman.

Warning: R.A.Y.O.R (Read At Own Risk)

There is violence in this chapter and one scene is on the same level as the impaling scene in chapter 3. This chapter was approved on the DPOF (G-rated forum) without any suggestions for scene changes. But just to be sure I've added above-mentioned warning.

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Chapter 6: Confrontation

Plasmius and Skulker simultaneously looked over at Juukka. They realized that the creature had overheard them and apparently had already put everything together. The ghost's eyes radiated an intense glow and his body started trembling with anger. He let out a terrifying roar while the Plasmius duplicate nervously stepped backwards.

_**And this is exactly what I hoped for.**_

_You...you ruined everything!_

_**Yeah, I guess I did.**_

Vlad's hands fisted at feeling triumph and smugness flowing out of the teen's self.

_**I was especially waiting for this moment. I had a feeling that Skulker would be stupid enough to say your real name. And now Juukka knows the truth. This little game of yours is over, Plasmius.**_

_No, this can't be! I was so close. _

_**I admit you were. You may still push me back if you want to, but that ghost now knows that you overshadowed me, there is no way he's ever going to trust you now. **_

Juukka howled again, then started to run on all fours toward the overshadowed Danny.

"Stop, I command you to stop!" Plasmius yelled in panic, and then shot several energy beams from Danny's palms, but the ghost easily evaded them. At the last moment, Juukka leaped into the air, willed himself intangible and dived straight into Danny's body.

_What do you think you're doing, stupid Beast? I'm in control here, you can't force me out. _

_**Juukka. You're helping me? Awesome!** _

"Danny, Danny, say something!" Skulker yelled while shaking the boy's shoulder. A furious Plasmius duplicate landed next to him.

"It's too late now, you fool!" he hissed.

The violet glow around the boy's body changed to green again. Danny let out one final scream, after which Plasmius emerged from his back with Juukka firmly holding onto his waist. With a heavy thud Plasmius fell to the ground, Juukka on top of him. As soon as they both became tangible, the creature stood up, grabbed the half-ghost by his collar and held him up in the air. Meanwhile, Danny fell to his knees, using his hands as support to prevent his body from falling on the ground. He was panting heavily. Even with the help of this ghost, it had still taken a considerable part of his energy just to drive the older half-ghost out.

Plasmius was looking in fear at Juukka. The creature's eyes narrowed as he growled menacingly. He clenched his left fist and moved his arm a bit backwards. Plasmius panicked, realizing what the ghost wanted to do.

At the same time, the duplicate grabbed the still panting Danny by his throat, lifting him into the air. "One day, I'll make you pay for this," he said threateningly.

Danny managed to let out a short but hearty laugh.

"What are you laughing about!?" the duplicate roared, his eyes burning with rage.

"Just give it up, Plasmius. It's over." The boy sounded serious, but a weak smile was growing on his expression.

Feeling his anger growing, Vlad tightened his grip on the teen's throat. In turn, the choking Danny grabbed the offending hand in an attempt to pry it from him at feeling his enemy squeezing harder by the second, so much that if he didn't escape his hold he feared his neck would snap before his body gave in to the lack of oxygen.

"V-Vlad… let…go," he managed to rasp out, panic starting to overcome him as his head began to spin and his already weakened body quickly lost any strength to fight.

Juukka's fist started to glow as the creature channeled his energy into it.

"N-No, s-stop," Plasmius begged. With a frightening roar Juukka gave Plasmius a massive uppercut, sending him flying into the air.

Juukka didn't see the half-ghost slam into the water, or Skulker fly after him to aid his employer, since he had turned his attention to the duplicate still holding Danny by this throat, and was now running straight towards them.

"I'm getting rid of you once and for all! This is the last time you get in my way, you little rat!" Vlad assured darkly to the boy, who stared at him with fear, his struggles barely there by now.

Seeing Juukka approaching, the duplicate's fury was redirected towards him. With a scream of anger, he threw the young half-ghost aside and flew towards the creature, his extended hands filling with a swirling cloud of energy, ready to strike.

However, at the last moment, Juukka jumped over the duplicate. Still in mid-air, he quickly wrapped his tail in a constricting grip around his neck, before pulling him backwards to the ground. The doppelganger made a surprised scream, quickly drowned in choking sounds. Juukka landed just as the duplicate fell heavily on his back with a cry of pain. The creature withdrew his tail, believing his opponent was defeated.

How wrong he was.

Faster then Juukka could react Plasmius grabbed the retracting tail by the tip with his left hand, and yanked on it to quickly pull himself to his feet.

Immediately, he created a large energy sword in his right hand, before hissing, "You'll pay for this, you stupid beast!" In one fell swoop, he cut off the creature's tail, leaving only a tiny stump.

Juukka screamed as he reached with his hands for something that wasn't there. For a moment the duplicate looked at the still wriggling tail in his hand with disgust before throwing it in Juukka's face. The animal ghost barely noticed it as he let out several cries while keeping his hands on the wound, which was gushing ectoplasm.

Danny, who had managed to stand up again, saw what Plasmius had done. "Juukka!" he screamed. He took a few steps forward, wanting to help the creature, but his legs gave out immediately after and he fell back down.

In desperation, he did all he could at the moment. "Vlad! Please stop!" he begged, but the man seemed deaf to everything around him. Danny struggled to his feet again while he watched the furious half-ghost walk toward Juukka.

The duplicate dissolved his sword and filled his hands with energy, brought them together to form a large fist and slammed it directly into Juukka's neck. Screaming in agony, the ghost smashed headfirst to the ground. Plasmius then delivered a brutal kick in his stomach, making him gasp for air and roll over four times.

Juukka now lay on his right side, the claws of his hands deeply thrust into the stones, desperately trying to fight the pain. The duplicate stared at the being and panted heavily.

Danny finally managed to keep himself on his feet._ Plasmius hasn't noticed me yet. I just have to focus my energy. Hang on, I'm coming, Juukka. _

"Do you think I enjoy seeing you suffer like this?" the doppelganger yelled between breaths, having difficulty speaking. "You've brought this on yourself. You should have joined me when you had the chance." The creature's anger-filled eyes stared defiantly at Plasmius, making him realize that this ghost would never join him out of his own will.

The duplicate sighed, calming himself down. "We'll just have to do this the hard way then," he said in resignation.

"You aren't going to do anything, Plasmius."

The duplicate turned around and saw Danny flying toward him, fast. Narrowing his eyes and clenching his fists, he took on a defensive stance. "Bring it on, you little brat!" he hissed threateningly. "I'll tear you apart limb from limb." The doppelganger's last words were spoken in a deep, menacing tone, sending an unvoluntary shiver through the teen, but he kept going, not planning to back down.

"You really don't know when to quit do you?" Danny fired two ectoblasts at his enemy; the duplicate formed a new energy blade and used the weapon to deflect both attacks one into the lake and one into the air, before flying toward the ghost boy. Within seconds he made a vertical swipe with his blade, but to his surprise and shock Danny managed to catch the sword between his hands.

"Why you— let go immediately!"

"I don't think so, Plasmius."

Several meters behind them, Skulker carefully put the original Plasmius down on the pavement. The half-ghost fell to his knees, clearly exhausted.

"Skulker," he said weakly.

"Yes?"

"The battle is still going on. I'm directing all my remaining energy into the duplicate. I want you to join the fight, there is still a chance..."

"I understand. I'll do everything I can."

"Good, concentrate your efforts on Juukka first. My duplicate will try to neutralize Daniel."

The Plasmius duplicate and Danny were still struggling. After several seconds the boy shattered the sword into two pieces. "No, impossible!" the doppelganger cried, while looking at his broken weapon with disbelief. Dissolving the remnant of the sword, he quickly created a new energy sphere in the same hand. But before he could throw it, Danny went intangible and passed straight through Plasmius' body, re-appearing behind his back.

The duplicate turned around while absorbing the energy back into his body. Instead he erected a shield in front of him expecting an immediate attack. He was very surprised to see that Danny was nowhere in sight.

"Coward," he hissed, "Come back here and fight."

"Oh, I'm fighting alright; you're just way too slow."

Quickly looking up, the duplicate was shocked to see Danny hovering above him. Before he could react, The teen dived and delivered a massive kick to his head. Crying in pain, the Plasmius copy fell on his left side and slid several meters until his head smashed against the wall of the warehouse. Within seconds, the doppelganger stood up with a glare directed at his young rival. Trembling from anger, he created another energy sword and leaped directly towards the ghost boy.

Danny landed and immediately dived to his right when Plasmius swiped his sword at him. When he saw his opponent preparing to strike again, he fired a small ice blast at his hands and sword. Seeing his attack had hit its target, Danny flew into the air while the duplicate tried to use his energy to thaw the ice binding his hands together.

"You RAT!!!"

The duplicate started to throw several burning, pink energy disks at the boy. Danny rose into the air and flew straight at his opponent, easily avoiding each of the doppelganger's attacks.

"Payback time," Danny yelled as he appeared in front of the duplicate, whose angry expression changed to shock. The boy pounded his fist into his stomach, making him loudly gasp for air.

"And these two are for overshadowing me!" He slammed his fists into the duplicate's face, one on each cheek. Stumbling backwards, the copy clutched his face while groaning in pain.

Meanwhile, Skulker emerged from the ground and immediately spotted the unmoving Juukka in front of him. Becoming intangible, he called forth one of his many weapons._ This is my last net; better make this one count. _He then fired the missile, which instantly deployed the net. Juukka let out a cry as the net enveloped him again. Not wasting any seconds, the hunter activated the energy drain.

"Juukka!" Danny yelled as he heard the ghost scream. He flew over the doppelganger and saw Juukka writhing in pain, while Skulker gazed at the creature with a serious expression.

"Oh no, you don't!" the teen shouted, quickly forming a small energy disk in his right hand and throwing it toward the cord. Before the hunter could act the disk severed the rope, instantly ending the painful draining process.

"No! I'll get you for this, wh—"

"_Grrr..."_

Skulker's angry expression changed into one of horror as he saw that his prey had already managed to break the net.

Danny smiled at the now-freed Juukka, and the animal ghost gave the boy a grateful look before turning to his captor. Suddenly the teen felt someone grabbing his ankle, making him yelp in surprise.

"We're not done yet," the duplicate said darkly, strengthening his grip.

"Sorry, Plasmius," the boy said grimly while glaring at his archenemy. "It's over." His eyes turned blue and an icey aura appeared around his entire body. In an instant, the doppelganger's hand turned into ice. He screamed in pain and surprise as he watched the ice spread along his arm. Danny went intangible and moved out of his opponent's frozen hand. Seeing the duplicate beginning to concentrate his energy to melt away the ice, the boy flew into the air and fired four energy balls in quick succession. The energy wasn't aimed at the older half-ghost himself, but slammed into the ground around him, only centimeters away. The impacts threw a lot of sand and debris into the air, blinding his adversary momentarily.

While the duplicate rubbed the sand out of his eyes, Danny flew toward the lake and dived into the water, causing the original Plasmius to look on in confusion. A moment later, Danny emerged out of the ground just before the duplicate and gave him a massive uppercut, sending the half-ghost screaming into the air.

As soon as his opponent had fallen onto the ground, the teen landed before him, charged an ecto-blast and released it right in front of his stomach. In a flash of light, the duplicate was thrown backwards, letting out a terrifying cry that held an unsettling combination of anger and pain. A second later he landed on his back and slid several meters to the feet of the original Plasmius, who knelt down and stopped him with his hands.

At that same moment, Juukka leaped into the air directly toward the hunter, extending his blades on his right hand from their sheath. Skulker yelled in shock and immediately flew higher into the air. The creature missed his target and landed on all fours. He lifted his head and shot two green eye beams towards his enemy. Skulker accelerated and managed to escape the first volley. However, Juukka kept firing and with his third attack he hit the hunter straight in the back, damaging one of his rockets. This made him loose control, and he started to fly in an irregular pattern, slowly spiraling down, and eventually crashing into the water. Without hesitation, Juukka jumped into the water and swam as fast as he could toward the sinking metallic ghost.

The original Plasmius looked at his now unconscious duplicate. "I can't believe this, Daniel is winning," he murmured, his confusion and surprise turning into anger and disbelief. Deciding that it would be better to concentrate all of his energy in one body, he quickly absorbed his duplicate. At that exact moment Danny landed in front of him. Plasmius stood up and chuckled.

"Well done, Daniel. But now that I'm whole again, the real battle is about to begin."

Danny sighed as he put a hand on the small of his back, stretching slightly. "You know, that was fun in the beginning, but it's getting old now. Wake up!!" The boy stretched out his hands in front of him in frustration. "You've lost. What do I have to do to get through that thick skull of yours?"

Nothing, because I haven't lost yet," he said seriously, taking on a fighting stance. "And now it is time to show you that my experience is still superior to those growing powers of yours."

Danny laughed happily as he put his hands on his hips.

Plasmius looked surprised at the boy. "Care to tell me what's so funny, Daniel?" he asked, annoyed.

"Yeah, that so called superior experience is what's funny, because that isn't going to cut it this time, Plasmius." Smiling, Danny moved his hand through his hair. "As for the battle, it hasn't just begun, it's already over."

This time it was Plasmius' turn to laugh, although it didn't came out as confident as he had hoped it would. In fact, he scolded himself silently as he believed that the teen could hear his uncertainty. "Surely you must be joking! You'd wish that the battle was over." Grinning evilly, he added, "You really shouldn't underestimate me like that, dear boy."

Danny chuckled, clenched his fists and started to walk toward his opponent. "Well, you shouldn't underestimate me either. If you didn't, you would have known by now."

"Known what?" the half-ghost said irritably.

"Haven't you noticed something?"

"Noticed wha—?" Suddenly Plasmius could feel it. _No, he wouldn't._ As he turned around his irritation changed into shock as he saw another smiling Danny standing behind him. "You... you duplicated yourself," he stammered in disbelief.

The other Danny, whom Plasmius had turned his back to, responded, "Yep, but now you're looking at the original. I was the duplicate."

"But how? When...?"

Neither Danny replied. Instead, the original one fired an ecto-blast straight into Plasmius' dumbfounded face.

"Aargh!," he yelled in pain as he stumbled backwards, covering his eyes as the blast had blinded him.

Both Danny's dashed toward their opponent. Before Plasmius could react, the original Danny had placed his hands on the older half-ghost's chest while the duplicate placed both hands on his back.

"What are you two...?"

Plasmius couldn't continue as he felt a deep, intense chill spreading throughout his body. A thick layer of ice from both Danny's hands quickly expanded in all directions. "You'll regret this mmph—" The ice then covered his face, capturing Plasmius' shock and surprise in a moment of silence.

With a satisfied smile, the two Dannys took a few steps backwards. The duplicate then flew toward the original Danny, landing directly next to him. They both looked at the ice statue of their archenemy with happy smiles, and gave each other a high five before giving the frozen Plasmius another look.

The duplicate gave the original Danny a nudge and said playfully, "How much time do you think he needs to get out of the ice? I'll bet ten seconds or less."

"Nah," the other Danny replied, "you're giving fruit loop over there too much credit. I'd say fifteen seconds or more."

"Deal," the duplicate said. "I'll count."

"Fine with me."

The duplicate raised his left hand and started counting on his fingers. "One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississipi, four Mississippi, five Mississippi, six Mississippi, se—"

Suddenly the glow in Plasmius' eyes began to intensify while a large crack formed at his feet, quickly expanding upwards. Within seconds the large crack split the ice in half and two hands appeared at the edges.

The duplicate looked at the original Danny with a smug expression. "I win," he said with a smile.

"Awww," the original said playfully. A green glow formed over the duplicate, he jumped in the air and flew into the original's body, merging the two Danny's together again.

"It's now or never," the teen muttered, seeing that a steaming Plasmius had almost freed himself. He took a deep breath and released his most powerful weapon, the Ghostly Wail.

Enraged, Plasmius shattered the last piece of ice that still encased his feet. "I've had enough of this, I'll—" His sentence was cut short as Danny's powerful wail enveloped him entirely.

"No, no!" he yelled, using his hands to shield his face from the direct impact of the waves. He slowly stumbled backwards, while desperately trying to keep his balance. Focusing his energy, he tried to will himself intangible, but the might of the wail disrupted his concentration, rendering him helpless.

The boy did his best to limit the radius and size of his Ghostly Wail, trying to prevent any damage to the buildings to his left and the streetlights at the waterfront to his right. While it was more difficult to maintain his attack this way, the advantage was that the energy channeled into his wail would not spread out as much as usual and would also be far more powerful. Hopefully that would ensure that Plasmius would have no chance to retaliate.

It became harder and harder for Plasmius to resist the intensifying ghostly waves. After several seconds the powerful incoming energy lifted him and threw him backwards. At this point Plasmius gave up struggling any further; he could feel the boy's Ghostly Wail tearing up the remaining energy within him. The half-ghost screamed in agony as he landed with a loud thud on his back. Even after he landed, the force of Danny's attack kept pushing him across the ground, tearing his once pristine white suit.

After a few more seconds, Danny finally halted his attack. Immediately a wave of dizziness set over him; he fell to his hands and knees and tried to avoid landing face down on the ground. Panting heavily, he lifted his head to see what he had accomplished. Plasmius was lying on his back in the distance, motionless. And aside for a few fallen stacks of boxes and crates, he had succeeded in keeping everything else undamaged.

"I did it," he said with a weary smile. "I really did it."

After taking a few more breaths he felt stronger again, and slowly rose to his feet, carefully focusing the energy he still had left inside of him. Overcoming his feelings of weakness and dizziness, he flew toward his opponent, who still hadn't moved.

He landed cautiously next to Plasmius. His archenemy's eyes were closed, his head slightly turned to the left. Danny got the impression that he was unconscious, but not wanting to take any risk he took a step backwards. The boy looked at his opponent with mixed feelings; while they had battled each other before he couldn't remember a moment when Plasmius ended up this hurt and wounded. Green ectoplasm slowly dripped from the edges of Plasmius' mouth, his white suit was torn and burned, green stains were also visible on several parts of his body— presumably originating from wounds and injuries underneath his clothing. Danny knew he shouldn't care about the feelings and condition of his worst enemy, but he did feel somewhat uncomfortable seeing him like this.

"Let me go, I can swim on my own, you know."

Danny looked in the direction of the lake where he thought the voice was coming from, but he didn't see anyone. He walked carefully along the wharf, looking and listening cautiously. Suddenly, a few meters before him, an armored hand grabbed the edge of the brick sea wall. He recognized Juukka's claw immediately. Quickly closing the distance, he could see how Juukka was trying to pull himself up. Much to Danny's surprise, the ghost's other arm was holding Skulker underneath his arm and neck.

Danny went down on one knee and carefully grasped Juukka's hand, intending to pull him up. The animal ghost glanced at Skulker, who was looking considerably annoyed but didn't say anything. Juukka the nodded in Danny's direction, and although the creature couldn't talk, the teen understood.

He grabbed Skulker by his shoulders, then lifted him into the air while Juukka let go. Within a few seconds, the ghost boy laid Skulker down on the ground, noticing from the corner of his eye that the animal ghost had climbed out of the water. Danny did wonder why Juukka didn't just fly, but then he realized that he had never seen the ghost use that ability. Apparently this ghost didn't possess the power of flight.

"What a humiliation, to be rescued by my very own prey."

Danny looked with irritation at Skulker, who now sat on the ground. "Instead of complaining you could thank him, you know."

The hunter looked in turn at the boy with a small frown, "You know as well as I do that I was perfectly able to get out of the water on my own, I didn't need any help."

Yeah, but he didn't know that. And it's the thought that counts, right?"

The hunter thought for a moment before grinning slightly. "I guess it is, whelp." He then looked at Juukka, who was now standing on all fours trying to shake off the water. Skulker's words sounded surprisingly honest and solemn, earning him a confused look from Danny.

"Really? I thought that you wou—"

Skulker interrupted. "You thought that I would use this opportunity to attack him, now that his guard is down, right?"

Danny didn't reply, but gave a slight nod.

The hunter chuckled. "If I wanted to, his head would be hanging above my bed in just a few hours. He wouldn't stand a chance."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Sure, in your dreams."

Skulker briefly glared at the boy, "There is also still enough room for the head of a certain ghost child I know," the hunter said irritably.

"Oh yeah?" Danny retorted with a scowl, "I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you." He placed his hand absentmindedly on his neck, while looking at Skulker in slight discomfort.

Still sitting on the ground, the hunter pulled up his left leg and laid his left arm on it. He continued to gaze at Juukka who was now wringing excess water out of his ears. "Whelp, you and I have both seen the power and strength this creature possesses. From my experience, it is very rare to encounter a being such as him."

After a moment of silence, the boy replied, slightly raising his hands in front of him. "Wait a minute, you just said 'if I wanted to.' Does that mean you aren't interested in capturing him now?"

Skulker lifted himself to his feet and checked his onboard computer for a moment, giving the impression that he was ignoring the boy's question. However, before Danny could react, the hunter answered. "Yes. Even if I could, I would not capture him now."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Why? Is that just because he pulled you out of the water?"

The hunter shrugged off-handedly and replied, "To some extent. During all the time that I've been hunting I've never come across a ghost like this one. At the moment I can't think of any prey that would have even bothered to rescue me if my life was threatened." He looked at the teen. "Except for you, ghost child."

Danny looked up in surprise, but didn't reply, giving the hunter a nod instead.

Skulker looked at Juukka again. "I still can't believe he helped me," he said, a small grin appearing on his face. At this moment Juukka had finished drying himself and now stared at Danny and Skulker.

"Though you may think otherwise," the hunter continued, "I'm a ghost of honor. I know when it is right to attack and when it isn't. Although I did not need it, Juukka assisted me, and because of that _this_ hunt is over. It would be dishonorable to attack my prey after what he did for me. I now know he is a being of incredible power and abilities. And as a hunter I respect and acknowledge that, but it also serves as good knowledge." Skulker shot a predatory grin towards Juukka before looking back at Danny. "I look forward to the next hunt with him. But rest assured, I will be better prepared for it."

Danny frowned, but whatever he planned on saying was forgotten when he saw Skulker look over towards Plasmius with mixed emotions that the teen couldn't decipher. "You know… in a way, I'm glad Plasmius failed in capturing him."

He glanced at Danny, placing his right hand on the boy's head, pushing it down a bit with a little force. The gesture -although a bit painful- was done in a playful manner, so instead of retaliating he allowed it for a moment.

"Hey!" Danny protested, "What's the big idea?"

Skulker chuckled, "Perhaps, having you interfere was best. You did good whelp. Now I have two worthy preys to hunt down. I truly look forward to my next hunt with you as well."

Realizing that the gesture -although a bit painful- was done in a playful manner, Danny's annoyance vanished and was replaced by a confused expression as the hunter withdrew his hand. But the half-ghost dismissed it with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, me too," he replied sarcastically, "It's always great fun to have missiles and nets thrown at me. Oh, but the best part is when you are about to slice my head off with that blade of yours."

Skulker laughed loudly, "Admit it, ghost child, deep down you know our hunts benefit both of us."

"Whatever, dude. Only you'd think anyone enjoys getting hunted down," Danny answered annoyed. But deep down inside, he knew the hunter was right. His fights with Skulker kept them _both_ conditioned. His battles with all his enemies was what made him stronger each day… but he wasn't about to openly admit that to one of his more formidable opponents.

Both Danny and Skulker turned toward Juukka, who was walking in their direction. Little drops of water on his armor glittered in the streetlights, his eyes half-open, clearly showing how tired the creature was. He only made small steps, gazing at both Danny and Skulker with uncertainty. When Juukka had reached them he sat down on his back legs, and then began to nervously fiddle with his ears, apparently awaiting a reaction.

After several seconds Danny finally broke the silence. "How are you feeling, Juukka? Is everything alright?" he asked cautiously.

Juukka closed his eyes and nodded several times. He understood.

Danny tilted his head a bit, trying to get a look at Juukka's back, especially where his tail had been. The animal ghost noticed what the ghost boy was trying to do, and he quickly turned around to allow him a good look.

"Oh man," Danny said as he inspected the stump, which gave off a bright green glow. "I'm sorry about your tail, I—"

Skulker interrupted him. "Don't worry about his tail; he possesses regenerative powers. Within a few days a new tail will be fully grown in its place."

"It will?" The boy looked back at Juukka as if looking for a confirmation. The animal ghost placed his right hand behind his head, closed his eyes, let out a friendly chuckle and nodded a bit.

"I'm glad to hear that." Danny said with a smile. "When I saw how Plasmiu—Plasmius!"

The boy looked over at his archenemy, and saw to his shock that the half-ghost was awake and trying to get on his feet again. Juukka started to growl a bit as Plasmius fell to his knees and then struggled again to stand up. He finally made it weakly to his feet. With his hands on his knees, he looked up at Juukka and Danny with an expression of anger and defeat.

Plasmius had been willing to gamble everything he had to make Juukka join him, and he had failed. Danny felt a little sorry for him, but it couldn't be helped.

The older half-ghost kept staring at them several more seconds, but then suddenly a smirk appeared on his face. He pushed back part of his cape with his right hand and flew straight into the air. Accelerating quickly, he flew over the warehouse and disappeared on the other side.

"Plasmius!" Danny yelled, before taking off as well. Skulker followed behind, while Juukka made himself intangible and phased through the wall of the building.

After landing in front of the warehouse, Danny ran forward several meters before halting. He looked in all directions but couldn't see Plasmius anywhere. Skulker landed behind him and Juukka phased out of the warehouse. While running on all fours he increased his speed and quickly caught up with them.

"I don't understand," Danny said. "Why did he fly away? And where is he? Is he hi—"

A scream shattered the silence. Danny, Juukka and Skulker ran toward the source of the sound, an alley to their right, two buildings further down the street. As they reached the alley, they could see someone coming out, staggering on his feet, clutching his left arm with his right hand. It was a man dressed in a formal black suit, which had several tears, his hands and face covered with small wounds and bruises.

Danny gasped. "Vlad."

"Please... help me."

End of chapter 6

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I hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks for reading everyone!

Until next time!


	7. A hunter and his prey

Hello everyone:

Thank you so much for the reviews, and I'm sorry letting you wait for this long. But first, I have a confession to make. I also posted this on DeviantArt earlier, but some things have happened to me lately, and because if this I won't be able to work on my fanfic for a while. I definitely plan to finish it but for now I have to put it on a hold.

Copied and pasted from DA:

For the past few months I've been fooling myself. My life at this stage has been incredibly busy, and I always convinced myself that no matter how busy it will get, I would always manage to finish everything. I would be able to handle anything. That was a big mistake on my part.

About two weeks ago I broke down. I began to cry and I just couldn't stop anymore. I feel horrible. I've begun throwing up, I got heavy hearbeatings, cramped muscles and I feel really stressed, frustrated. I get angry and mad about nothing. The truth is, my work (I'm a bookkeeper) is killing me, my studies draining all my free time and energy.

One of my problems is that I help people in different fandoms with beta-reading, reviewing and giving them advice on problems, but while I love doing that and helping others, I really do, I've been kinda neglecting my own problems. And now I've reached the point that it really is going to haunt me.

I just can't keep this up anymore, at this point everything is just too much for me, I can't handle it. I'm feeling awful, I'm feeling really tired. I have to make a choice. I feel I can't focus anymore on certain things that are important at this point of my life. I need to focus on my studies, my job, my own life.

I see no other option than to withdraw myself and ending all internet activities. First, I need to get back to the basics. Concentrate myself on my studies and tasks. And therefore, I wanted to say goodbye to everyone here.

Although I feel really bad about this, from this moment on I'm no longer available for beta-reading or reviewing, but I'll definitely try to post a comment or review from time to time.

I want to thank all my friends here, I'm really grateful that I know you all, and I wanted to thank you for everything.

Although I'm leaving it doesn't mean I never visit anymore. I'll come back from time to time, but I won't be very active anymore.

I hope you understand and why I really need to do this. I'm really sorry.

JH24

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This is the last chapter I can post. I'm sorry for leaving an unfinished story for now. But I prefer to do this than to finish it in a way I know I won't be happy with. I can't concentrate myself on it anymore, not while I know there are real-life things that are at this point more important.

I wanted to thank everyone again who has reviewed my story in the past. There are several awesome fanfics here which I plan to continue reading and I'll do my best to post a review on them when I can. These include all the fanfics I've posted a review for so far and several others.

For now, this is the last chapter. I understand if you don't want to read it because the story won't be finished for the next couple of weeks/months.

Chapter 7: A hunter and his prey

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"Please, help me," Vlad begged, struggling to stay on his feet.

Danny's eyes were open wide from disbelief. _I can't believe that guy. Now he has failed as a ghost, he is going to try again as human?_ The boy's eyes narrowed. _No, this has gone on far enough. I won't let him._

"Somebody, please help me," the man pleaded again. He then started to tremble on his legs and slowly lost his balance as he began to fall backwards. Immediately Juukka dashed forward, positioning himself behind the human, catching him before carefully laying him on his back. The creature then sat down next to him. Vlad moved his head, a grateful smile appearing on his face. "Thank you," he whispered.

The animal ghost tilted his head a bit to the left and gave him a very surprised look. He put his left hand on his chest while making a strange sound, almost sounding like a question. "Anyaa?"

_He is probably wondering why I, as a human, am not afraid of him. _Vlad thought. _I have to make this sound believable. _

At that moment Danny stepped forward to intervene, but before he could say anything Skulker pulled him backwards, covered his mouth and made them both invisible. Hearing a muffled cry, Juukka looked to his left, but the hunter had already flown into the air, and was making sure he couldn't hear Danny's struggles.

Knowing he needed to keep the ghost's attention directed at himself, Vlad placed a hand on Juukka's wrist. The creature quickly turned around.

"Please listen," he began, pulling his hand back. "I'm not entirely sure but if you asked just now why I'm not afraid I can explain— if you can understand me that is. You see," he briefly placed a hand on his own chest, "my name is Vlad Masters and I'm the mayor of this fair city." _A backward dump is more like it._ "And one of my duties is to protect this city and its people from ghosts, no matter the cost. So I've been quite familiar with your kind for some time now."

Juukka's posture changed, he crawled backwards a bit, somewhat uncomfortable at hearing the man's words.

Vlad smiled reassuringly. "Oh, you don't have to worry, my friend. I have a lot of experience in dealing with ghosts and I can already see that I have nothing to fear from you. My past experience has taught me to recognize the difference between good and evil spirits. You are definitely a friendly, kind being." He smiled weakly. "I can see it in your eyes."

Juukka scratched the back of his head, not knowing how to react to what this human just said. He stood up, putting one hand on his neck while gazing in all directions.

A wicked grin appeared on the man's face. _Well done, Skulker. By keeping Daniel occupied, I still might have a chance. _He observed the animal ghost, who walked nervously around him, looking for a sign of the missing teen. The billionaire frowned lightly. _Only his energy levels are still too high. I need someone who at least will be able to weaken him, even only for a short while. _The man's eyes widened. _Daniel! Yes, he would be perfect._ Realizing that Juukka was about to run away to search for the ghost boy, Vlad knew he had to act.

He cleared his throat and swallowed. "Wait!"

The creature turned around at hearing his name.

"There is something you need to know." _I really have to sound convincing, I can't afford to make any mistake at this point._

Juukka tilted his head slightly, a bit surprised at the man's sudden serious expression.

"It... concerns the ghost boy you apparently just met, Danny Phantom."

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"Hey, let go of me! What the heck do you think you're doing?" Danny yelled angrily. He had finally managed to pry Skulker's hand away from his mouth but he was still held in a firm lock by the hunter. Noticing he didn't get a reply the teen turned intangible and slipped out of his opponent's grasp. Danny quickly glanced around and realized he was now pretty far away from Vlad and Juukka. They were above the lake, a little distance from the industrial waterfront, but very close to the police boats patrolling the area.

Skulker grinned, but gave the teen a brief moment to take in the surroundings. "I expected you to do that, whelp." The hunter aimed his right arm at the half-ghost and shot out a green, glowing grappling hook on a long rope.

Danny, still intangible, chuckled and didn't even bother to move aside. "It seems one of your screws has gone loose, tin head. There is no way that—hey!" The teen looked at his ankle in shock; a hook was now looped around it. "H-how...?" he stammered.

Now it was Skulker's turn to chuckle. The rope was attached to a small circular device on his right arm; one of the three LED's on the device began to shine brightly. He pressed a small button to cut off the rope and then held it with his left hand. "Wouldn't you like to know?" The hunter grinned evilly. "You may still appear to be intangible, but the effects are cancelled out." His eyes narrowed, "Let's do a little experiment."

Skulker reached with his right hand behind his back, revealing a small gun with a brightly glowing, square reservoir underneath it. He aimed it directly at the teen, who's eyes widened in panic.

Danny swallowed nervously, scolding himself for underestimating his opponent. He raised his hands in front of him, "Skulker, wait! Don't—Hmmph!" Skulker had fired, and a green blob of slime attached itself to the boy's mouth. From shock, the half-ghost lost his concentration on staying intangible… not that it was of any help against Skulker's devices anyways.

The hunter laughed as he put the weapon back, "What's the matter, whelp? No more witty banter?" Danny was now glaring at him, but he could also see relief in his eyes. _I could have finished him off at that moment, and I think the ghost child realizes this too. But I've no intention of killing my most valuable prey so easily…When the time comes, I want to make sure that our last fight will be the ultimate clash between hunter and prey._

Looking satisfied, Skulker activated the remaining rocket on his back. He briefly checked his computer to confirm that the suit had indeed stabilized his rocket pack. If not, he would end up in an uncontrollable spiral just as when Juukka had shot him out of the sky earlier. Reassured by the readings he turned his attention towards the teen, who was now trying to get rid of the slimy, tough substance on his mouth.

_Good, _Skulker thought, _he isn't going anywhere_. _Even one rocket should give me more than enough speed for what I'm about to do._ Holding the rope firmly in his hands, the hunter suddenly shot higher into the air and dragged the boy along with him. Looking down he saw Danny still trying to get rid of the sticky material around his mouth, when that didn't work the teen frantically tried to free his leg.

Skulker continued to hear Danny's muffled cries, which only intensified when he quickly accelerated and began to spin around. _Let's see if you can get out of this one, whelp._ He then let go of the rope and watched with satisfaction how the ghost boy disappeared in the cold water.

Danny slammed so hard into the lake that he saw his vision darken for a few seconds. _I can't let Plasmius get away with this!_ he thought as pain threatened to overwhelm him. He clenched his teeth together, and forced his body to respond. In an instant, he turned around and shot out of the water. He charged directly at the hunter, quickly closing the distance between them. _Alright, Skulker_, the teen's eyes now glowed intensely as he let out a growl, _payback time._

Skulker's eyes widened in shock. He clearly hadn't expected the teen to recover this fast. "What—?"

Before his opponent could react Danny slammed his right fist into Skulker's face. The teen then landed on his chest and clenched the ghost's face with his left hand.

"What do you think you're doing?" The blinded ghost yelled in anger. He grabbed the boy's sides with his hands in an attempt to throw him off, but Danny summoned a blue aura around his body, freezing the hunter's hands in place. Skulker growled. _Those darned ice powers again. I really need to find a counter for them soon._ Danny formed a sharp ice shard in his right hand and cut the rope attached to his ankle. He then sent a wave of cold energy through his left arm, freezing the hunter's face. Skulker cried out in shock as a thick layer of ice blinded him entirely. The teen made himself intangible to get out of the ghost's frozen hold, which also caused the slime to fall of his face. Willing his body tangible again, Danny flew into the air, _I have to go to Juukka fast, there's no telling what that fruit loop will do next._

However, Skulker wasn't planning to let his prey go this easily. The little blob within the metallic head quickly typed in several commands. The suit began to glow causing the ice to melt. With his now freed hands and thawed face, Skulker shot out another rope, it looped around Danny's ankle again. The hunter smirked as he gave it a good yank.

"Aahhh!" Danny screamed in shock as he was pulled back. His initial surprise quickly turned into anger, giving his adversary a menacing glare.

Skulker glared back, "This isn't over yet, ghost child. If you want to confront my employer, you'll first have to go through me."

Danny sighed. "Oh come on!" he said while spreading his arms out. "You said earlier you were happy that Plasmius didn't succeed in capturing the ghost. Well, I've got news for you. He's going to succeed after all, if I don't get back."

The hunter frowned but then raised his right arm, activating his laser weapon. "That might be true, ghost child." He paused a second as he considered his options. "But letting you go without a fight means I would betray my ally. And as I also said earlier, I'm a ghost of honor."

Danny's expression darkened, "Fine, if that's the way you want it. But I'm warning you, I'm not playing games this time, Skulker."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," the hunter quipped with a smile, slowly narrowing his eyes. He fired.

Danny dove to his right and barely managed to avoid the laser beam. Changing his legs into a wisp, he flew forward in a spiraling motion, effortlessly dodging the hunter's blasts. Charging his fists, the teen lunged at the ghost, who flew to his right just in time. Danny dove down, positioned himself below his opponent and then shot upwards with tremendous speed.

Skulker gasped. _He's fast._Within seconds Danny slammed into the hunter's abdomen, the intense sound of wrenching metal clearly indicating the force of the young half-ghost's attack. "Good, but not good enough." The hunter grinned as he grabbed Danny with both hands, squeezing his chest in a vice grip. The teen gasped and his ghostly tail morphed back into legs. Danny reacted fast and grabbed the hunter's chin with his left hand and began pushing it upwards with all the strength he had. At hearing several wires snap Skulker realized that his head could come off at any moment. Even worse, he was shocked to feel he couldn't move his right foot anymore. _I have to stop him before he ruins my entire suit!_

"Oh no, you don't!" the ghost grunted irritably. He grabbed the boy's hand and tried to pry it off. They both struggled in the air for several seconds until Skulker finally managed to push Danny's hand back and broke from his hold. However, at that moment the teen shot a blast out of his palm, his energy enveloping the hunter's face.

In shock, Skulker let go and Danny safely retreated a few meters, while observing the damage. The boy's mouth fell open. The blast had completely blown away the top of Skulker's head. He could even see the little blob sitting behind a control panel.

Skulker felt at his face in disbelief. "You, you!" The voice was now squeaky and high-pitched. "What have you done?"

Danny put his hands on his hips, slightly tilting his head, looking at his opponent with a serious expression. "I told you I wasn't playing games this time." His expression softened and he sighed while combing his right hand through his white hair. "Look, don't you think this has gone far enough? Just let me go to Plasmius and we call it a draw." He smiled and moved forward his right hand, "deal?"

Skulker didn't reply. He formed a large, green, glowing energy blade instead.

Danny rolled his eyes, sighing again. "Alright, your choice."

The hunter dashed forward and made a fast swipe with his blade. Danny quickly flew above the ghost, dived down and delivered a massive kick to his back, propelling him down to the lake. Danny flew towards the falling hunter, landed on his back and ripped out the remaining rocket. He could hear the little ghost inside scream. He then grabbed Skulker by his leg, dragging him to the wharf before throwing him into a large garbage container placed against a wall. Danny landed beside it, and as soon as the hunter's disfigured head appeared out of the garbage he grabbed it with both hands.

"No, stop! You can't do this!" The little blob desperately pushed several buttons but the suit wasn't responding anymore. Danny didn't reply; he climbed on the edge of the container and placed his right foot on Skulker's shoulder. With loud cracking and snapping sounds the metal head tore loose. Danny then jumped to the ground again and glared at the little ghost through the opening in his face. Turning the head upside down, Danny stuck his hand inside and pulled out the wildly struggling green blob.

"I'll get you for this! I'm the greatest hunter in the Ghost Zone. I'll..." He stopped as he noticed the boy's angry glare, making him feel genuinely uneasy. After a few seconds Danny's expression softened, and he let out a friendly chuckle. Placing the little ghost carefully on the edge of the dumpster he turned around and walked away. Overcoming his initial surprise the little ghost continued with his angry tirade. With his back turned, Danny only raised his right hand and made a waving movement in response, before flying into the air. He looked down with a smirk on his face, knowing very well that next time they met, Skulker would definitely be stronger and even more motivated than before. He was almost looking forward to it. Almost.

His expression darkened as he realized that his problems weren't over yet. There was still Vlad he had to deal with. Danny changed his lower body into a wisp, increased his speed and flew as fast as he possibly could.

End of chapter 7

I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!


	8. Vlad's trumph card

Hello everyone!

I'm sorry for being away for so long but I needed time to deal with some problems in my life that had grown out of control. Not everything is solved yet though, but I do feel a lot better in contrast with a few weeks ago. I've begun reading and reviewing fanfics again and I managed to finish the last chapters just a few days ago. I can't believe this story is almost over. After this, one more chapter and one epilogue to go. 

Thank you so much for your reviews. I'm really grateful.

R.A.Y.O.R.

(Read At Your Own Risk)

There are some scenes of violence at the end. 

I want to thank my beta-readers Bluemoonalto and Pearl84 for all their valuable feedback, helpful notes and detailed comments. I couldn't have done this without you both.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom

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**Chapter 8: Vlad's Trumph card**

"Yes, yes, I know it is very hard to believe," Vlad spoke kindly. "But I'm telling you the truth." Juukka lowered his head, a saddened gaze in his eyes. There was an uneasy silence for several seconds, which was interrupted as someone landed right in front of them. The man smiled. _Ah Daniel, you're just in time._

Both Vlad and Juukka were still sitting on the ground. Danny noticed that the animal ghost looked at him with a suspicious stare. Shrugging it off for the moment he turned his attention to his archenemy, who looked at him with a smug expression. Becoming irritated, the boy took a few steps forward, crossed his arms and gave the man a scowl. _I'm going to end this right now._

"So, Mr. Mayor," Danny began, "What has happened to you? What are you doing here at this time of the night?"

Vlad frowned as he glared momentarily at the boy, but then his expression changed back again into an evil smirk. "Why should I explain myself to you?" he said defiantly, earning him a surprised look from the teen. Vlad paused for a moment as he took a deep breath. _It is now or never._

He continued, "You're Amity Park's Public Ghost Enemy Number One! You have done so many terrible things to our beautiful town and its people. I'm not going to tell you anything! You monster!"

"W-what?" Danny squeaked. He was at a loss of words, his face conveying shock and confusion. 

"In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you were in league with that ghost who did this to me!" the man said angrily.

"Ghost? Did that...?" Danny struggled for words. "What are you...?" Feeling overwhelmed at this sudden turn of events, he took a step backwards.

_Daniel doesn't know how to react, I have to press on._ Vlad tried to stand up, but pretended his legs were still weak. Seeing this, Juukka stepped behind the man and prevented him from falling backwards, he then carefully lowered him to the ground.

The billionaire fixed Danny with an intense stare, "Yes, I was kidnapped, kidnapped from my very own office. An evil ghost wanted to take revenge for my anti-ghost policies, which have made Amity Park so much safer." He looked at Juukka with sadness. "That ghost tried to kill me but I...I managed to escape" Vlad put his hands on his face, his voice now sounding emotional. "I-I don't...know how I escaped, it was such a horrible experience." He looked up as he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Juukka, gazing at him with a sympathetic look.

Danny finally managed to compose himself. _I have to do something, now!_ He stepped forward. "Juukka, what he's telling you is just all a big lie!" 

The creature looked up. 

"You've got to believe me! He hasn't been kidnapped, he—_"_

"The nerve, how dare you!" Vlad roared. "Don't even try spreading your horrible lies! I've told this ghost everything about you. He knows the truth, he now knows how evil and treacherous you really are!"

Danny's eyes widened, "What?"

"Yes!" Vlad looked at the astounded teen while pointing at Juukka. "I've told him that you, Danny Phantom, are the most evil and powerful ghost we ever had in Amity Park." 

The teen glared. "W-Why you filthy...I—"

"Juukka!" Vlad continued. _This is going very well. "_I've been fighting him since the first day I became mayor. He has been terrorizing innocent people for almost two years now."

"Don't listen to him!" Danny pleaded, clenching his fists in frustration. "He's not who he appears to be, he's the same person who has hunted you all this time. He's—" 

A voice boomed above them. "The most powerful ghost fighter and the best mayor I've ever encountered." Danny cringed, this sounded all too familiar.

_Plasmius._

Everyone looked up in the sky were they saw the ghost, floating calmly with his arms crossed, sporting a big confident grin. He then flew to their right and landed several meters away from them. Juukka's attention was immediately drawn as he turned his back to Danny and Vlad. 

"No, not again," the boy moaned defeatedly. Suddenly, he found himself unable to control his anger any longer. "You ugly, lying piece of—!" He took two steps forward, until he stood above the duplicitous mayor. He then squatted, grabbing Vlad's collar with both his hands and shaking him violently. "How could you?" the boy yelled, his eyes glowing menacingly. Juukka didn't notice or even heard what was happening behind him, his attention entirely focused on the ghost who had caused him so much pain this day.

Vlad showed a malevolent grin while firmly grabbing the boy's arms "Check and mate, Daniel. Check and mate."

"Why, you..."

"This is called chess, dear boy. And to be a master player one must have the foresight to plan ahead, making sure to always stay several steps ahead of their opponents." He chuckled. "You've lost."

Danny, who still held Vlad by his collar, said nothing but kept glaring at him. Vlad withdrew his hands from Danny's arms and seemingly relaxed. Letting out another chuckle, Vlad looked at Juukka who still had his back turned. He then yelled to the creature. "Be very careful of that powerful, but yet devastatingly handsome, ghost over there! He is almost as dangerous as Danny Phantom and they have been known to work together on many occasions."

Juukka immediately swung around, looking at the boy with a shocked expression. 

Danny stuttered, "N-No! D-Don't believe him. Plasmius and I have been enemies since the first time we met each other." It didn't came out as confident as he intended it to. He abruptly realized what it must look like to Juukka, seeing him holding Vlad roughly by the collar, and he quickly let go. 

"Daniel, I feel so hurt." Plasmius sneered, his arms still crossed, "Are you suddenly pretending that you had nothing to do with our plans?" 

"Plans? I don't know what you're talking about, Plasmius," the boy growled.

"Oh yes, you know," Plasmius continued as his grin widened. "Don't you remember? I had to pretend that I was hunting him so you could present yourself as his savior. I overshadowed you to make things even more believable, just as we had planned." Amused, he tilted his head slightly to the right. "You know the rest."

Danny started to tremble with anger. "You dirty liar!" he yelled. Juukka began to growl softly at the boy. "No, please!" He put his hands in front of him as if fearing an incoming attack. "They're both lying, they're trying to trick you. I—" 

"Oh please, Danny Phantom," Vlad interrupted. "This good ghost has already seen your true evil intentions. Although I never believed you would do something so despicable as this."

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Danny's anger and frustration finally spiraled out of control. At this point he couldn't care less about the consequences of his actions. He dived forward, grabbed his archenemy by the collar and lifted him in the air. "Enough of your lies!" Danny yelled in rage. "If everyone only knew, if they only knew what kind of person you really are!"

Vlad began to cough heavily. "P-please let go. I-I can't breathe."

Danny rolled his eyes as it was quite clear to him the man was only pretending. "Like that's going to work on me." He strengthened his grip, making the man groan in pain. The teen sighed. "Oh, come on. Drop the act already! Don't you think this has gone far enough?" Suddenly the teen felt someone grabbing his arm, squeezing it tightly.

Danny turned his head, the anger on his face quickly turning into shock as he saw Juukka glaring at him, growling threateningly. 

"No, wait!" He scolded himself silently for allowing his anger to cloud his thoughts. _Of course Masters wasn't trying to fool me, he just wanted to convince that ghost I was hurting him. I'm such an idiot._ "Listen, you don't understand, he— Ahh!" 

Before the boy could finish Juukka had already hurled him into the air. With a mighty roar the ghost shot a lightning beam from the spikes on his helmet. The electrical surge hit Danny full force, making the boy scream in agony. Vlad watched with satisfaction as Daniel limply fell head-first. Juukka leaped forward and ran to the spot where the ghost boy would land. The creature cocked his fist, not letting his target out of his sight. Before Danny hit the ground Juukka hit him with a devastating blow on the face, throwing him against the trunk of a large oak. 

Danny cried out in agony as he collided with the tree before falling to the ground; he curled up as he tried to fight the horrible pain raging within his body. He slowly opened his eyes, and while his vision was blurry, he could see Juukka standing on his back legs only a few meters away, waiting. The creature seemed to be allowing him time to recover, and Danny gratefully used the extra time to focus his energy and to adapt himself to the pain. After a few moments the boy managed to stand up again. He grimaced, clenching hisagonizing right shoulder with his left hand. He sighed in relief as the blurry effects dissipated, giving him back his full eyesight. 

"Listen to me, Juukka," he tried one more time. "I'm not your enemy, Vlad is trying to—"

"Don't listen to him," Vlad yelled from behind the animal ghost. "He's trying to talk himself out of this, but he is lying, like he always does."

"Shut up, V—" Danny was unable to finish his sentence because his opponent had fired an energy blast at him from his right hand. He flew up into the air and the blast harmlessly flew underneath.

Juukka didn't seem surprised by the boy's actions. He calmly raised his right hand and made a small waving gesture. The blast then headed into the air, only to dive down again in the direction of the ghost teen, who had just landed.

"Oh no!" Danny yelled. He flew into the air once more, barely avoiding the ensuing explosion as the energy made contact with the ground. Despite his quick reaction, he was still caught by the shockwaves that were released by the impact of the blast. The force of the waves made him lose any sense of direction. Juukka jumped into the air, appeared above the teen, put both fists together and slammed them into his back. This caused the young half-ghost to plunge into the ground, throwing a large amount of dust and debris in the air. 

There was no time to recover. After landing Juukka leaped with a mighty roar straight toward the boy. He stretched out his now glowing right fist, ready to strike.

Danny managed to roll away just in time. Juukka's fist slammed into the ground were he had been just seconds before. The devastating force of the ghost's attack pulverized the stones and large cracks spread in all directions. After getting to his feet Danny quickly flew into the air; his mouth fell open in awe when he saw the gaping hole in the ground, but he quickly snapped himself out of it. As he dived down his eyes and hands started to emit a blue glow. 

The creature, who had just pulled his fist out of the ground, looked up and sawthe boyflying toward him rapidly. Before he could escape, the ghost boy fired a large ice blast. Juukka let out an agonizing yelp as the cold, swirling mass of energy hit him at his feet; immediately the ice started spreading and extended upwards, encasing his body within seconds. The ghost's eyes radiated fear as he stared at the young half-ghost, until the ice covered his face.

Danny observed the result of his attack as he landed. He knew very well that it would not be enough to stop Juukka, but maybe it would give him a bit more time— valuable time he needed to get the information he wanted out of Vlad. He turned and glared at his archenemy with glowing blue eyes. Vlad leaned back in unease, but his duplicate stepped in front of him. 

"Alright then," Danny said while grinding his teeth, "Then I'll just have to beat you both into the ground."

At that moment Danny's attention was drawn by a cracking sound. With shock he saw the creature break away a part of his prison with a swipe of his massive claws, freeing his left arm and his face. Releasing a heavy roar the ghost shattered the rest of the ice block in an instant. He then jumped out of the hole and landed at a few meters distance in front of the teen.

"Or not," Danny moaned. He really regretted that he hadn't brought a Thermos with him. Juukka stood on all fours, eyes glowing brightly and filled with anger, his whole body trembling. Danny realized that at this moment, his chances to talk this out peacefully were over. Juukka had made up his mind and it was obvious that he believed Vlad over him. 

Knowing that Juukka's strength made it practically impossible to fight him one on one, he saw only one option left. Danny focused his energy, closed his eyes and clenched his fists. A green glow appeared over his body. "Come on, come on," he whispered. Despite using the technique just minutes earlier and practicing it a lot the last few weeks, he still had trouble controlling it. He let out a weak groan as the glow around his body intensified. "Please, come on, work!" 

Juukka tilted his head in slight curiosity at seeing the boy struggle. He was already leaning backwards, ready to jump straight at him, but relaxed at the last moment, deciding to wait just to see what his opponent was up to.

Suddenly, three Danny duplicates formed beside the original. "Yeah, alright!" they all said happily. Then the four Dannys all looked at Juukka, who now seemed to regret his decision to wait. He lifted himself on his back legs, yelping nervously,unsure of what would happen next.

Without warning, three of the four Dannys dashed forward while the original stayed behind. The first duplicate started the assault by hitting Juukka's face with his right fist; balancing himself from the direct hit Juukka took a few steps backwards. The second doppelganger came in and landed a massive kick against the ghost's chest, making him stumble as he tried to keep his balance. The third duplicate came from behind and fired a blast exactly in the middle of Juukka's back; throwing him face-down on the pavement. 

While Juukka struggled to get up, the three duplicates spread themselves around their target, all of them stretching out their hands, forming glowing green energy spheres within them. As soon as the animal ghost stood again the duplicates fired their blasts. Juukka cried in panic and crossed his arms before his face in order to block the attack. As the blasts hit him full force he let outan agonizing scream. The real Danny then flew forward, merged with his duplicates and landed only a meter away from the creature. Juukka was yelping weakly, his torso and arms covered with burn marks while small wisps raised into the air.

Danny took a deep breath and unleashed a Ghostly Wail on the disoriented ghost. Juukka became entirely overwhelmed and was thrown backwards, screaming out in pain and fear. Danny halted his attack after several seconds before falling to his knees. Panting heavily, he felt terribly weak, incredibly dizzy and his vision was blurred. But in contrast to his earlier assault against Plasmius he hadn't poured all of his energy into this one. Despite the fact that Juukka had attacked him first, he just couldn't bring himself to treat the ghost in the same way. Because in the end, this situation was not the creature's fault. With his vision returning, he could see Juukka lying motionlessly on his back in the distance. 

"I can't believe this," Vlad stammered. "Daniel appears to have achieved what we could not. He has beaten him." 

"This is just impossible," the Plasmius duplicate muttered, clenching his fists in anger.

Breathing heavily, Danny got up on his feet again. He gave a sympathetic look at Juukka who appeared to be unconscious, before turning toward Vlad and his doppelganger. Not only was he completely sick and tired of fighting, but the fact that he still didn't have any answers made him even more frustrated. With an angry glare on his face, intensely glowing blue eyes and hands he slowly moved toward them.

The duplicate stepped again in front of the billionaire, who still sat on the ground— both of them looking slightly nervous. He formed two glowing energy spheres while taking on an defensive stance.

"Alright Masters, I want answers and I want them now!" Danny yelled threateningly. "I've had it with this game of yours and I've completely had it with YOU!"

Suddenly the duplicate absorbed the energy in his hands and dissolved himself. The remaining violet cloud immediately merged with Vlad. 

"What the—?" Danny said but Vlad interrupted him. 

"Help, help! Somebody help me!" the man screamed in panic.

"What are you...? Juukka," Danny hissed, as he realized his archenemy's plan.

Turning to his right, he saw the creature standing again, his eyes burning with pure rage. Danny knew he shouldn't even bother trying to explain this. What was left to explain? Vlad was screaming for help and he was walking toward him with glowing energy in his hands. The being lowered himself on all fours as green, transparent flames began to rise from his body, engulfing him in a violently burning aura. With huge force the animal ghost slammed his right fist into the ground, sending large cracks filled with green energy into all directions. One of them went directly for Danny, who managed to jump away just in time. 

"No, no! Darn you, Vlad!" Danny started to feel desperate, and he began to tremble. Vlad had managed to completely corner him. With even his Ghostly Wail not being strong enough, what else was there left to try? 

With a loud roar Juukka started running toward him; in panic, Danny fired several blasts at the ghost, but he all dodged them effortlessly. The boy then filled his hands with a cloud of intense cold and placed them on the ground, spreading a huge ice wave in Juukka's direction, freezing everything in its path. However, at the last moment, the creature leaped into the air, spun several times and then landed directly behind him. 

Danny quickly turned around in shock but he was too late. The ghost's eyes flashed briefly before shooting out two green beams hitting him full force in the chest. The boy screamed in pain as the energy carried him through the air toward the warehouse, smashing him through a window. He felt the glass cut into his flesh. The beam then vanished, releasing him from its iron grip. Danny fell to the cold floor, sliding several meters before his head smashed against the wall on the other side of the warehouse. 

"Amazing," Vlad softly spoke with awe. "Such unbelievable power." Yet, he also felt somewhat worried for Danny's well-being. He knew that the teen was capable of withstanding powerful attacks, but this last one seemed particularly devastating. He saw Juukka jump through the same broken window the young half-ghost had been blasted through. The billionaire stood up and ran toward the building. With the trust he had gained from the creature, surely he could convince him to stop... Vlad frowned, a worried look grew on his expression. _If not..._ The man shook his head. _Let's not think about that now._

_End of chapter 8._

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**_Well, after being betrayed four times by Vlad within just a few hours, something seems to have snapped within Juukka. Unfortunately, the ghost is venting his anger toward the wrong person. Will Danny be able to expose Vlad's manipulation and schemes in time and put a stop to his plans? Or will the older half-ghost be able to claim victory after all?_**

_**Next time, the conclusion: Chapter 9 - Endgame**_

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**I'm sorry, I couldn't resist to do a preview this time. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time everyone!**


	9. Endgame

**Shining Zephyr, Mutantlover09 and Pear84. Thank you all so much for your reviews! **

**I can't believe the story is almost over. I hope you enjoy this chapter. ****My deepest thanks to Bluemoonalto and Pearl84 for beta-reading!**

* * *

**R.A.Y.O.R. (Read At Your Own Risk) There are a few scenes of violence in the first half.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own danny Phantom. The series and all of it's characters are property of Butch Hartman.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Endgame**

Juukka jumped through the broken window after Danny, landing inside the warehouse with the flames around his body illuminating the large room in an eerie flickering glow. The young half-ghost was lying on the ground several meters in front of him, green ectoplasm oozing from several glowing wounds on his body. Seeing the teen trying to get up, Juukka immediately leaped into the air straight at his adversary. Reacting quickly, a shocked Danny made himself intangible and sunk through the floor, just a second before Juukka slammed his knee into it. Growling with irritation the ghost took a step back.

While glancing around, Juukka walked to the other side of the hall, his flames continuing to cast the surroundings in a sinister glow. Suddenly, Danny appeared out of the floor just before him. The creature let out a cry of surprise as he saw the boy willing himself tangible. Before he could react, the ghost teen gave Juukka a massive uppercut, sending him flying until he slammed into the ceiling. The ghost quickly dug the claws of his hands and feet into it, hanging upside down above the room. He then created two doppelgangers, which appeared in the same position beside him, while the flames around his body slowly dissipated. The two duplicates let go of the ceiling and landed on each side of Danny.

"This isn't good," the boy murmured.

Vlad had reached the window and saw to his surprise that Daniel was still fighting. He actually expected Juukka to have defeated him at this point. The billionaire grinned slightly. _Maybe I shouldn't intervene just yet, it might be interesting to let this battle run its course. The weaker they get, the better it will be for me._

Both Juukka doppelgangers started running toward Danny. One of them formed a green energy sphere in his right hand, leaping directly toward the ghost boy. Danny managed to grab the duplicate's hand, barely keeping the burning energy away from his face as he sent a wave of cold energy through the doppelganger's arm, neutralizing the green blast. With a scream the teen lifted his opponent by its frozen arm and began to swing him around.

The other duplicate saw what happened and tried to stop him, but couldn't get close enough because of Danny's spinning movements. The teen let go and threw the doppelganger against the other, causing both of them to slam into a large stack of boxes, burying the two ghosts entirely. Danny then looked up at the ceiling where the original Juukka still hung. Seeing an opportunity, the boy flew into the air, his fists glowing and ready to strike. However, before he could land a hit his head smacked against something hard. Letting out a cry in pain, Danny fell to the floor and landed on his belly.

He groaned as he tried to get up, "What was that?" He turned around and saw to his surprise that Juukka had erected a transparent shield around him. It was barely visible, except for a few thin glowing, green lines running through it. "Great," Danny muttered in frustration. "What else can he do? I have a feeling he isn't hanging there just for fun."

He then noticed how a thick layer of energy had formed around the ghost's wrists. _That's odd, it almost looks as if he's wearing bracelets now. I wonder what he's planning. _

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud roar coming from his left. The teen quickly turned, only to see the two Juukka duplicates who had just freed themselves. The two of them stood next to each other and each stretched out an arm, one left and one right. Their hands almost touched the other, leaving only a small space between their palms.

Danny felt unease growing inside of him. The two Juukkas were standing still, glaring at him angrily. Suddenly a green energy sphere appeared between the two extended hands, quickly growing in size. The teen's unease rapidly changed into panic as both duplicates ran towards him. Their speed changed their appearance into a blur while they carefully kept the ball of energy positioned between them. The ghost boy immediately formed a large barrier in front of him.

Within a second his opponents slammed the energy sphere into Danny's shield, which immediately started to buckle. The boy cried out in pain as he tried to resist the force of their assault with all his might._ This is too much, I can't hold this!_ _Think, Phantom, think!_ He desperately looked around to see if there was anything he could use to his advantage. _That lamp on the ceiling? No, that wouldn't work. That thing is not hanging above them. Freezing it to make it fall would be pointless._

Grimacing, Danny looked to his right. _Those racks do look heavy, but they are too far away. Darn it! _Running out of ideas he looked down in frustration, knowing his shield could give way any moment. He then noticed the doppelgangers' armored and clawed feet sticking out underneath his cracking barrier. W_ait! That's it_. Danny focused some of his remaining energy and managed to divert it to his eyes which turned blue in an instant. _Here goes!_ As he fired the two beams at the duplicates feet, ice immediately began to spread in all directions.

The duplicates yelped in surprise and shock as their feet were encased. And within a second their legs and middle body suffered the same fate as well. Danny's gamble paid off, as the energy blast between the doppelgangers quickly dissolved, ending their assault on the teen's rapidly weakening defense.

_Yes, it worked!_ Danny let out a sigh of relief. Seeing the duo already breaking free from their ice prison, he flew into the air and halted just underneath the ceiling. He put his hands above his head and formed an intensely glowing sphere of cold between them. "Sorry, but you two are going nowhere!" He then dived down and threw the chilling, swirling mass of energy at his adversaries. The blast slammed into the floor before their feet, freezing them instantly in the thickest layer of ice yet. Their shocked and horrified expressions engraved in a moment of silence.

"And now it's your turn!" The teen looked at the original Juukka, suprised to see that the creature had just withdrawn his barrier. Danny chuckled. "Not a good move." He charged both his hands with energy and flew directly toward the animal ghost. Juukka pulled back his hands from the ceiling, causing him to fall backwards. However, his armored feet were still firmly locked, preventing him from falling to the ground. In a second the ghost fired two energy blasts at his duplicates, which both were surrounded with ghostly flames upon impact, slowly melting away the ice.

Just before Danny could land a hit, Juukka let go of the ceiling. At the moment the teen sheered over his head, he quickly grabbed the boy's feet, pulling him down. As soon as the animal ghost landed, he slammed Danny to the floor face first, making the boy cry in agony as he felt the pain forcing its way through his battered body. Realizing the vulnerable position he was in, Danny turned around and kicked the ghost in his chest, freeing himself from his grasp. He then dashed past Juukka and ran toward the two duplicates who were almost thawed. Not planning on being outnumbered again, Danny halted halfway between them. He crossed his arms and filled his hands with burning, green energy.

The orginal Juukka looked in shock as he saw the ghost boy blasting his doppelgangers away; the left one collided with his back against a massive packaging machine, while the other, still covered with ice on his chest, slammed into a heap of large, iron tubes. Both Juukka duplicates groaned in pain as they lay on the ground, their bodies trembling all over.

The real Juukka growled, a hint of frustration audible in his voice. Both doppelgangers dissolved into a floating mass of green energy, flew towards the original ghost, and then merged with him by entering the symbol on his chest, making him light up briefly.

Danny didn't let his opponent out of his sight for even a moment. Although he felt relieved that he could now fight one on one again, it did little to ease his worries. Suddenly his eyes shot wide open. _Wait! Didn't he have two glowing circles around his wrists just moments ago? What happened—?_

Before the teen could finish his thoughts two glowing rings flew out of the floor, one on either side of him. _What the—! _The rings moved down and locked themselves around Danny's wrists. Danny's initial surprise turned into horror when he felt his hands being forced towards each other. He tried to resist but in just a few seconds they were handcuffed together, the two rings merging to form a larger one. The young half-ghost looked up at Juukka, confused, but then a smirk appeared on his face. "You don't think this is actually going to keep me down, do you?" He willed himself intangible and...

"AAAHHH!"

Danny became engulfed in an intense green glow. Small lightning arcs spread over his body, also hitting the floor around him. The teen fell to his knees, panting heavily, the glow slowly fading away. _That really hurt, what just happened? _He flinched as he tried to move his head; his vision had become blurry but he could still see Juukka standing in the distance. _Did he attack me?_ _I think not, he_'s_ still...wait a second. _He looked at the ring around his wrists._ Did this thing just do that? _Carefully, Danny tried to focus a small amount of his energy, he stopped as a jolt of pain pierced his chest, making him wince.

"Great, just great," he murmured. "Now I can't even use my powers." He looked at Juukka again. The animal ghost now slowly walked toward him, his eyes glowing menacingly. Danny swallowed nervously. Suddenly Juukka began to run, causing the teen to panic. "No, wait!"

The ghost slammed into him and grabbed him around the waist. He took Danny off the floor and made them both intangible, passing safely through the wall of the warehouse. Outside, Juukka ran straight through Vlad and then made a huge jump directly into the office building to their right, while carrying Danny in his arms.

Vlad looked on in astonishment, he hadn't foreseen this. He tried to transform into Plasmius but realized that his energy levels were too low. Using his intangibility and invisiblility powers proved unsuccesful as well. _Blast! I have nothing left. _He looked at the building they just disappeared into. "Juukka killing Daniel would be very inconvenient at best," he muttered in utter frustration.

Inside the building, Juukka left intangibility too quickly, causing both of them to slide quickly across a pair of desks, knocking over two monitors. Then they fell to the floor, crashing head-first on the carpet. Danny managed to escape Juukka's grasp and tried to get up. The animal ghost got on his feet first and put his hands underneath Danny's arms, lifting the boy up. Suddenly a high-pitched scream made them both cringe. In the doorway stood a young woman in a bright red dress, staring at the two in disbelief.

"Eh, hello there, citizen." Danny said meekly. He flinched as Juukka grabbed him by the neck, apparently ignoring the frightened human. Danny's voice became more serious as he yelled, "Run! Just get yourself to safety. Go!" The woman nodded, turned around and sprinted away.

With one hand firmly on the back of the teen's neck, Juukka placed the other one on Danny's chest while growling menacingly. Making them intangible he walked through a wall with glass windows, before entering another office, half the size of the last one. There he threw Danny on a desk before jumping on it himself. The creature clutched the half-ghost's chest and pushed him forward until the back of the boy's head touched the glass of a window. The teen looked in despair at the angry ghost standing above him.

_I got to do something,_ Danny thought._ He's got me completely pinned down, but if I can't use my normal powers... Maybe I can still use my ice—_"

"AAAHH!"

His painful scream echoed through the corridors of the building. Danny flinched, biting away the pain. _No, scratch that, that won't work either. _Juukka, intensifying his grip, began to charge an ecto-blast in the other hand, making Danny look up in shock. "Wait!" he pleaded. "Don't do this. Vlad has lied to you all this time, I'm not evil. I'm not a villain!"

The animal ghost tilted his head, glaring at his opponent with distrust. Danny's heart sank. _Who am I kidding? Of course he's not going to believe me, not after what he has seen. _Juukka's expression began to soften, but he continued to charge the ecto-energy in his hand.

The teen desperately looked around, hoping that there was something, anything that he could use.

**SMACK!**

Juukka let out a yelp, as something had hit him on the head. He turned around, seeing the same woman in the red dress, standing in front of him, holding a large broom in her hands. Danny looked at her in surprise. She was trembling but a resolute expression could be seen on her face.

"You get away from him!" she yelled. "Leave him alone!"

**SMACK!**

The ghost yelped again as he was hit for a second time, grabbing his head with both hands.

"What are you doing? Get out of here!" Danny yelled, after overcoming his initial surprise.

The woman fixed him with a stare, "No, I'm not going to run. I'm not leaving you here."

Danny's eyes widened. "Why?"

A new voice replied. "Because you're our hero, that's why!" An elderly man in a blue suit ran into the room and hit a baffled Juukka directly in the face with a large, black suitcase. The ghost yelped again. The woman stepped forward and poked the tip of the broom into Juukka's stomach, pushing him away from the desk, making him land on the floor with a loud thud. She then pinned him into a corner. The confused ghost didn't fight back, staring at the young half-ghost with wide open eyes.

The man continued, "You have done so much for us, Danny Phantom. You're a true hero. This is the least we can do to help you."

Hearing these words Juukka looked at the man in shock. Suddenly another man ran into the office with a fire extinguisher in his hands. He aimed the device at the animal ghost and activated it. Juukka let out a panicked cry, ran blindly across the room and crashed into a photocopier. He then turned intangible, jumped through the window and disappeared. Exactly at that moment, the green ring binding Danny's hands together dissolved.

The woman stepped forward, smiling timidly. "A-Are you alright?"

"Yes, I am. Thanks," Danny answered gratefully. "Thank you for helping me. All of you."

"No problem," the elderly man said. He then gave Danny a thumbs up, smiling, "Now, go get that ghost. Show him what Danny Phantom is really made of!"

Danny smiled, "I will." With a shy grin he stood up. "Thanks again." He briefly waved before turning intangible and flying out through the window. Feeling happy and revitalized the teen made several loops before diving towards the ground again. His expression hardened as he realized he wasn't out of the woods just yet. "Vlad Masters," he growled.

"Juukka, what is wrong with you?" Vlad asked uneasily as he took a step backwards.". Before him on all fours, stood a ghost, a very angry ghost. Growling deeply and with fiercely glowing eyes he slowly walked towards him. What has happened in there? _Why is he so hostile? Unless Daniel..._ The man's eyes widened. _Oh no._ The billionaire put his hands together and tried to smile sincerely. "I don't know what that evil villain Danny Phantom has told you, but you shouldn't believe any—"

"Cut it out, Masters." A voice came from above him. "He already knows." Danny landed next to the animal ghost.

Vlad frowned as he crossed his arms, "Why? Because you told him so?"

The teen smiled, "No, because he heard it from the most reliable source there is. The citizens of Amity Park themselves."

Vlad gasped as the realization dawned on him. _No!_

Danny looked at the ghost next to him, "Juukka."

The creature stared back, yelping faintly, his eyes were trembling and filled with regret and shame.

The teen smiled kindly as he slowly walked towards him. "Listen, I..."

The ghost turned around, stood up and walked a few paces away from the boy. Suddenly, a ghost portal opened in front of the being. Danny gasped in surprise. _He can create his own portals? _

Juukka looked at Danny with a saddened expression. He then turned to Vlad, giving him an angry glare, sending a shiver up the man's spine.

Danny stepped forward, "Wait, don't—"

At that moment the ghost jumped into the portal and disappeared.

Suddenly a little green blob emerged from the ground and flew into the portal just before it vanished. Danny was surprised for a moment, but then realized that Skulker must have followed him after their fight had ended.

Danny stared at the spot the portal had just been, wondering if he would ever see that ghost again. He turned around as he heard footsteps coming from behind him. It was Vlad. Glaring at his archenemy menacingly, the younger half-ghost had a difficult time suppressing the urge to beat him up right here. Oh, how he would love to do that, but he knew it would ruin his reputation if word got out. After all, Vlad was still the mayor.

"I hope you're really proud of yourself, you crazed-up fruitloop," the boy hissed.

The billionaire halted and simply stared at him with an unreadable expression. Inside, the man was boiling with anger. He had failed to form a bond with Juukka, which would have meant he would have commanded a mighty warrior, who would have served him unquestiongly and out of his own free will. A powerful ghost who would have grown stronger with each passing day and would have been the perfect bodyguard. But Daniel had to interfere once again. Not only did that little rat ruin his attempts of befriending the ghost, but also prevented him from bringing Juukka on his side through more forceful means. He now wished Skulker had never told him about that blasted creature's existence after returning from his latest hunt.

Just the mere thought that someone else would be able one day to command Juukka's strength infuriated Vlad even more. But he couldn't let the boy notice how much this loss had effected him. _About one thing you can be certain, Daniel, _Vlad thought as he continued to stare at the younger half-ghost, slightly raising an eyebrow._ I'll make you pay for this. I don't know how yet, but I'll surely think of something. _Vlad took a deep breath, swallowed, and put his hands behind his back, an arrogant smirk slowly growing on his expression. "Well Daniel, this has been quite a night, hasn't it?"

However, before Danny could reply Vlad and he heard the sound of sirens coming from behind them, and they quickly became louder. They gave each other a look of alarm.

"Oh-oh," they said in unison.

* * *

"What!? Commissioner Maxwell, you're saying that the mayor has disappeared?" The officer was in utter shock.

Maxwell, who had just stepped out of the back of a police car replied, "Yes, he has. I just came from City Hall where I attended a meeting with him and his advisors about half an hour ago. He left to use the men's room but he never returned."

"Is that why you ordered our anti-ghost unit to enter the district just minutes ago? I thought we were under orders from the may—"

"Mayor Masters is no longer in command, obviously." Maxwell replied. "We've received calls from witnesses within the industrial zone claiming they've seen the Mayor there, and that he's wounded."

The officer gasped. "Oh no."

The Commissioner continued, "You see why I had to make this decision? We just can't afford to wait any longer."

"I understand, sir, but are there no—" The officer stopped as he heard the agitated voices of his colleagues.

He turned around, seeing others pointing up into the air. As he looked up, Maxwell stepped forward to get a better view. After a few seconds his mouth fell open. "Isn't that...?"

"Yes, it is, sir." The officer said with a smile. "It's Mayor Masters and he's being carried by Danny Phantom."

Maxwell sighed in relief. "Thank goodness."

"They both appear wounded though," the officer continued, his smile changing into a look of worry.

* * *

"Look, Daniel." Vlad's left arm was resting on Danny's shoulders. "They're all making room for us. When everyone hears that you saved the life of Amity Park's mayor you'll be considered a hero even more. Not to mention that this 'kidnapping' will make my ratings skyrocket, especially now that you're here to confirm my story." He chuckled. "I'm so glad you saw the value of my proposal, my dear boy. This way we'll both benefit from this unfortunate series of events."

Danny gave the man a scowl. "You threatened to tell everyone I was behind your kidnapping. It's not like I had another choice," the teen said irritably.

Vlad grinned, "No, you didn't. After all, if I recall correctly, you had been caught in the process of kidnapping the previous mayor, right?"

Danny's eyes glowed intensely, clearly showing his anger. "That wasn't— " The teen looked down and growled. "Someday I'll get you back for this, Masters."

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you will," the billlionaire said off-handedly. "But for now, smile."

The boy gave his archenemy, who was already smiling, one last glare before looking at all the people just a few meters underneath him. He saw an open spot were he could land, and headed in that direction while forcing himself to smile. Noticing the bright lights of TV crews and photographers gathered below, the teen realized that he wouldn't be going home for quite a while.

End of chapter 9

**Next chapter: Epilogue**

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading! I'll do my best to post the epilogue within the next few days. It is not very long (around 4 pages) but hopefully I was able to close this story in a good way.

I have to confess that originally I planned a sequel for this fanfic and had inserted elements hinting about this throughout chapter 9. This chapter was actually 24 pages long at first, but after deciding to disband the sequel it is now around 9. I had to delete quite a lot now I look back at it.

The main reason I cancelled a possible sequel is because I'm heading into a very busy and stressfull period and I feared that I would not be able to keep up writing the story and that in the end, it would only give me more stress and pressure. I really enjoy writing, but I found out that when I have a lot to do, my inspiration usually disappears very fast, frustrating me when I attempt to write.

Because of that, I had to change the ending and find a good way to close the main story arc. This chapter may feel rushed. If so, please let me know, I would only learn from that.

Again, thanks for reading and I wish everyone a great weekend!


	10. Epilogue

Hello everyone,

Pearl84, Shining Zephyr, Mutantlover09. Thank you so much for your replies/reviews. I'm really grateful.

I'm sorry for the long wait. Well, it's almost over. I have still difficulty believing it, yet on the other hand, I feel happy and relieved that I managed to finish this story. I really enjoyed working on it, but there were times that it gave me a lot of trouble. I could never have finished this fanfic without my two awesome beta-readers, Bluemoonalto and Pearl. Thank you so much for everything!

This is my first story I've ever written and I would be very grateful if people could let me know what they thought of it. What are my strong points regarding writing? What are my weak points? What was the weakest part of the story? Was anyone out of character?

I would be very grateful if someone could please help me with this. This way I know which area's I'll have to improve if I maybe try to write a new story in the future.

I want to thank everyone who has read or followed this story in the past months. Here is the epilogue, I hope you enjoy it and I'm sorry for the wait. Thanks again for reading!

_Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. The series and all its characters are property of Butch Hartman._

* * *

**Chapter 10: Epilogue**

_4:30 AM_

With a sigh Danny rolled over in his bed, burying his head into the pillows. He had been lying in bed for almost two hours now but still hadn't managed to fall asleep. Then again, how could he after all what happened that night?

Suddenly, a wisp of blue smoke escaped from his mouth. "_Oh no,"_ he groaned_._ "Not again, not now." He slowly turned around, and his narrowed eyes opened wide when he saw someone sitting at the foot of his bed. "You!" he gasped.

And there was Juukka, looking at the teen with sad eyes.

Danny searched for the right words. He had not expected to see that ghost again so soon. "W-What are you doing here?"

The ghost stared at the teen for a few moments, his eyes filled with regret, before lowering his gaze. He began to yelp softly.

The boy cleared his throat. "Juukka?"

The creature slowly lifted his head, almost afraid to look at him.

"You're feeling sorry, aren't you?" Danny asked cautiously.

He nodded before looking down again; the ghost now gazed at his feet, nervously awaiting the boy's reaction.

The young half-ghost smiled, "You don't have to be sorry. Vlad has tricked us both." Danny slowly reached out and placed his hand on the ghost's shoulder, who tensed for a second but then visibly relaxed. The teen then continued. "I'm not mad at you, really."

A sign of relief appeared in the ghost's eyes. Juukka stared at Danny gratefully for several seconds. He then turned around, jumped off the teen's bed, made himself intangible and disappeared through his window.

"Wait!" But Danny then realized that Juukka was gone. The teen knew he had a made a new friend tonight, but there was still so much he didn't know about that ghost. What amazed Danny the most about Juukka was the contrast between his ferocious battle skills and his moments of gentleness and protectiveness. Where did he come from? What would Vlad have done if he had succeeded in capturing him? And what about the story of the Legendary Destroyer? Was that a lie or did that really happened? Closing his eyes and rolling over in his bed, the young half-ghost wondered if he would ever find out...

* * *

_9:30 AM_

Jacqueline had just put the last plate on the table. Bread, cheese, soft-boiled eggs, butter. No, she hadn't forgotten anything. Her father was still showering so she walked to the living room were the TV was still on. She sat down on the couch for about a minute, staring somewhat bored at the screen. They kept repeating the same news about the incident last night, as well as the short interviews with Mayor Masters about his kidnapping and with Danny Phantom who had saved him. The girl couldn't really explain why, but at the way Danny Phantom and the mayor looked at each other between questions it felt almost as if something was not right between them. With a sigh Jacqueline stood up and turned off the TV with the remote.

She stifled a yawn. It had been a very long night and they had only gotten home around 2:00 AM. They were brought home by a nice female officer in a police car. _Dad's Toyota is probably still being checked for possible ghost-residues or something like that,_ she thought. Despite everything that happened last night her father told her he had slept quite well. She on the other hand, had not. Stifling another yawn, she headed upstairs, intending to grab her favorite book from her bedroom. She knew her father took long showers, and so, it would probably be a while before he was ready for breakfast.

Jacqueline froze as she reached the last stair. She could see someone placing something on her bed. She recognized the figure immediately. _It's him! He survived. _But the ghost then turned around and disappeared. She raced to her room but when she got there he was already gone. She rushed to her window, hoping to see him somewhere outside, but there was no one. Slightly disappointed, Jacqueline turned around, where her attention was immediately drawn to the object on her bed. It was around the size of a basketball, giving off a strange green glow. Carefully picking it up, the teen inspected the ball a bit closer, slightly surprised with how light it felt, as she expected it to be much heavier. The globe seemed to be filled with some kind of liquid, containing a lot of floating bubbles, varying in size. To her surprise, the bubbles and the liquid began to change into different colors every few seconds.

_It's beautiful, _she thought.

After a few seconds Jacqueline put the ball back on her bed and the colors slowly disappeared again. Suddenly a soft yelp came from behind her; she quickly turned around and gasped at what she saw. It was the ghost who had saved her life! The teen couldn't believe her eyes, there was a real ghost in her very own bedroom! But now another problem presented itself, what should she say to him? Jacqueline gave the creature a friendly smile. Just as last night, she didn't feel any fear at all being near him. By just looking at the ghost she knew he wasn't evil. He sat on his backlegs, giving her a curious look with his head slightly tilted to the left.

Jacqueline sat down on the edge of her bed, the ghost following her every movement. The girl carefully picked up the glowing sphere and placed it gently on her lap, the colors appearing inside again. The creature's eyes widened upon seeing his own 'present' and Jacqueline noticed this.

"I've never seen something this beautiful," she softly spoke while lifting the ball up a bit. Giving the ghost a grateful look she continued, "Is it really meant for me?"

Juukka immediately nodded.

"Thank you," she whispered. Jacqueline put the globe back on her bed before slowly sitting on the floor in front of the ghost. Although she tried to be careful in her movements the creature still leaned back, a nervous look growing in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just...I wanted to thank you for saving our lives."

Juukka rubbed the back of his neck while closing his eyes. He made several short, high-pitched yelping sounds. Jacqueline didn't really understand what he was saying, but the yelps had a happy tone to them.

The girl slowly placed a hand on her chest. "My name is Jacqueline. It is nice to meet you. Do you have a name?"

The creature looked down for a moment, as if he was pondering something. He then slowly raised his right hand and held it in front of him. Surprised, Jacqueline raised her right hand as well, but wasn't really sure what the ghost's intentions were. Juukka opened his hand and moved it closer to her.

"Do you want me to place my hand against yours?" Jacqueline asked. She felt a bit nervous, having no idea what would happen, but she trusted him.

Juukka nodded slowly.

"Alright, if that's what you want." Jacqueline moved her hand closer while the ghost did the same. As their hands made contact she could feel the ghost's fur pressing against her palm. Suddenly, a green glow appeared around their hands.

Jacqueline gasped. "Unbelievable. I...I can hear you. I can understand you." Her voice was filled with amazement. The ghost lowered his head and closed his eyes, while doing so the glow began to intensify. "Y-your, your name is Juukka," the girl stammered, her voice began to tremble. "This is so strange. It's as if you're in my mind, or if I'm in yours."

Suddenly, a wave of images started to appear before her eyes. The teen gasped again, "This is...this..." Even though they were only images, each one seemed to tell her a story and she soon realized that Juukka was communicating to her through his mind. Closing her eyes, Jacqueline concentrated on what the ghost was showing her. In less than a minute, she learned about his past, as well as the existence of a mysterious realm named the Ghost Zone and the portals linking their worlds together.

After several seconds Juukka slowly pulled his hand back. The glow disappeared and the teen opened her eyes. She looked at the ghost with a mixture of sadness and sympathy. The creature had opened his eyes as well but he seemed to be avoiding her gaze, as if feeling ashamed that he had put her through this.

Jacqueline tried to make eye contact. "Juukka," she said kindly.

The ghost didn't look up.

"You..." Suddenly she moved forward and locked Juukka in a big hug. The creature yelped in surprise but she felt him relax within seconds. "I'm so sorry," Jacqueline murmured faintly. The ghost gave her a grateful look and gently placed his left hand on her back.

"**Jacqueline!"**

The teen gasped in horror. _Dad! _She had forgotten about him entirely.

Juukka and Jacqueline looked up in panic at a baffled man, who stood in Jacqueline's bedroom doorway with a towel wrapped around his waist. His face frozen in utter shock.

But not for long.

His expression changed from astonishment into pure anger. "You! Stay away from my daughter, you freak!"

Jacqueline immediately got up and stood between a nervous Juukka and her steaming father. "Dad, you don't understand. He's not evil, he's—"

He almost seemed to explode. "_I don't understand?"_ he yelled. "I understand perfectly! He's a ghost and I don't want him anywhere near you!" He then turned toward a shaking and tensed Juukka. Pointing a trembling finger at the creature, the man hissed threateningly, "You hear me? If you ever dare to get near my daughter again, I'll—"

Juukka let out a high-pitched yelp, turned around, willed himself intangible and then leaped through the window.

Jacqueline immediately ran towards the window as well, throwing it open she yelled, "No, please wait!" She could see him disappearing over the hedge into the alley. "He's gone," she whispered softly. Only then did she notice their neighbor, Mrs. Watson, pausing from hanging the laundry in her yard to give her a weird look. Somewhat embarrassed, she closed the window. As she turned around she looked directly into the eyes of her dad, whose face had turned slightly red.

"Did I hear that right?" he said, his voice filled with disbelief. "Did you actually want him to stay?"

"Yes, I did." Jacqueline stepped forward. It had been quite a while since she had seen her dad this furious, although she definitely could understand why. "Dad, didn't you recognize him? It was the same ghost from last night. You know, the one who saved our lives."

The harsh look on her father's face softened a bit. "Well, that might be true, but he's still a ghost." His expression hardened again. "And ghosts can't be trusted!" He made a swiping motion with his right arm as if to emphasize the point.

Jacqueline crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Dad, what about Danny Phantom? You said plenty of times you trust him."

In an instant, the man's angry expression changed into one of confusion. "Ehh...well..."

He stayed silent for several seconds, his frown indicating he was thinking deeply. Jacqueline didn't say anything. She knew her dad very well, after calming down he usually saw things in a more rational way.

To her surprise, he turned around and walked away. Halting in the doorway, his back still turned, he let out a deep sigh. "You know, Jacqueline." He looked at his daughter, smiling lightly. "Why don't we discuss this matter together at breakfast in a few minutes? I'm going to get dressed."

Jacqueline smiled back. "Okay, dad."

As soon as her father went into his own room her smile vanished. Although she was glad her dad wasn't angry anymore, she felt deeply worried about Juukka. She stared out of her window, unable to believe what she had seen; the images still dancing before her eyes..She had no idea how it felt to be hunted all the time, dozens and dozens of ghosts chasing him relentlessly, always on the run with no place to hide.

Juukka was an experiment, created to be the ultimate weapon of destruction. Feeling no desire to kill and destroy, the ghost escaped just before the ghost scientists were able to insert his final programming. Jacqueline could feel anger rising within her._ Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He just wants to be free and live in peace. I'm surprised he could be so friendly and good-hearted after all he had gone through. _

Jacqueline sighed again. Juukka was gone and she had no idea if she would ever see him again. But at least she still had the glowing ball as a..._The ball! _She quickly turned around. The object still lay on her bed. She had no idea if her dad had even seen it. He must have. On the other hand, it could have been possible his anger had simply blinded him. Or maybe only she was able to see it— after all, Juukka had created it just for her. Jacqueline sat down on the edge of her bed and put the ball on her lap, holding it firmly. Again, a wide array of beautiful colors began to form within the globe.

She smiled lightly. _It is indeed beautiful. At least I can remember you by this. I wonder where you are right now_.

Suddenly, the sphere began to glow brightly and within a second an image within appeared. The girl's mouth fell open. She could see someone crawling slowly on the roof of a house. She recognized him at once. _Juukka!_

Jacqueline moved the ball closer to her eyes. She gasped once again as the ghost halted and turned around, looking directly at her. "Y-you know I'm watching?" the teen whispered in disbelief.

He nodded.

Suddenly, another image flashed before her eyes, showing the moment when she had held the ghost's hand, just after the accident last night. Upon seeing this she broke into a big smile. _I finally understand. Thank you._

The creature gave her a friendly wink and waved at her. Jacqueline waved back, the significance of this mysterious gift slowly sinking in. "Thanks again," she whispered. The image in the ball slowly faded away, being replaced with the swirling mass of a green, bubbling liquid. The girl stood up, gently carrying the sphere in her hands. As she walked to her closet, she put all her thoughts into place. This gift the ghost had given her represented their connection and symbolized their bond. She would always be able to contact him by simply touching the ball and thinking about him. They would be friends forever.

She carefully placed the globe on a shelf.

Smiling, Jacqueline closed her closet and walked downstairs. Although she realized that her new friend will have to face more difficult battles with his hunters, she had confidence that one day, he would be able to break his chains and finally become a free ghost, forever. Jacqueline knew she couldn't help him physically with his struggle, but she would mentally and morally support him whenever he felt down and whenever she could. Thanks to his wonderful gift, they would always stay in contact and talk with each other.

Jacqueline sat down at the table. She realized the conversation with her dad would not be easy, but she felt confident that everything would turn out alright. Her father may be harsh from time to time, but he had a good heart and meant well. Maybe one day she would be able to tell him what really happened between her and the ghost.

The girl leaned backwards, closed her eyes and smiled warmly. "Until next time, my friend."

* * *

**THE END**


End file.
